AT    LOS  ANGELES 


v^i 


■'^n 


IFORNIA, 


-ALIF. 


1, 


"OVER  THERE" 
WITH  THE  AUSTRALIANS 


From  a  photograph  by  MoJJett,  Chicago 


/ 


A^^/C. 


"OVER  THERE" 

WITH    THE    AUSTRALIANS 


BY 
CAPTAIN    R.  HUGH    KNYVETT 

ANZAC  SCOUT 
Intelligence  Officer.  Fifteenth  Australian  Infamtrt 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS 

1918 


COPTRICHT,  1918,  BY 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 
Published  April,  1918 


i   •      •••    .«, 


m        •     • 


••• 


•         -  •    •     •         •  • 


•  •  •  •  • 


•  •    ft 


2  2  5  7 


I 


BILL-JIM'S  CHRISTMAS 

(Bill-Jim  is  Australia's  name  for  her  soldier) 

Here  where  I  sit,  mucked-up  with  Flanders  mud, 

Wrapped-roiind  with  clothes  to  keep  tfie  Winter  out, 

Ate-tip  wi'  pests  a  bloke  don't  care  to  name 

To  ears  polite, 

I'm  glad  I'm  here  all  right ; 

A  man  must  fight  for  freedom  and  his  blood 

Against  this  German  rout 

An'  do  his  bit, 

An'  not  go  growlin'  while  he's  doin'  it: 

The  cove  as  can't  stand  cowardice  or  shame 

Must  play  the  game. 

Here's  Christmas,  though,  with  cold  sleet  swirlin'  down 

God  !  gimfne  Christinas  day  in  Sydney  touni  ! 

I  long  to  see  tlie  flowers  in  Martin  Place, 

To  meet  tlie  girl  I  write  to  face  to  face, 

To  hold  her  close  and  teach 

What  in  this  Hell  I'm  learning — that  a  man 

Is  only  half  a  man  without  his  girl, 

That  sure  as  grass  is  green  and  God's  above 

A  chap's  real  happiness. 

If  he's  no  churl, 

Is  home  and  folks  a^id  girl, 

And  all  tlie  comforts  that  come  in  with  love  t 

There  is  a  thrill  in  war,  as  all  must  own, 
The  tramplin'  onward  rush. 
The  shriek  o'  shrapnel  and  the  followin'  hush, 
The  bosker  crunch  o'  bayonet  on  bone, 
The  warmth  of  the  dim  dug-out  at  the  end, 

V 


The  talkin'  over  things,  as  friend  to  friend, 
And  through  it  all  the  blessed  certainty 
As  this  war's  working  out  for  you  an'  me 
As  we  would  have  it  work. 

Fritz  maybe,  attd  tlie  Turk 

Feel  that  way,  too. 

The  same  as  me  an'  yoti. 

And  dream  o'  victory  at  last,  although 

The  silly  cows  don't  know, 

Because  they  ain't  been  born  and  bred  clean-free, 

Like  you  and  me. 

But  this  is  Christmas,  and  I'm  feeling  blue, 

An'  lonely,  too. 

I  want  to  see  one  little  girl's  sly  pout 

{There's  lots  of  other  coves  as  feels  like  this) 

Thai  holds  you  of  and  still  invites  a  kiss. 

I  want  to  get  out  from  this  smash  and  wreck 

Just  for  to-day. 

And  feel  a  pair  of  arms  slip  round  me  neck 

In  that  one  girl's  own  way. 

I  want  to  hear  the  splendid  roar  and  shout 

O'  breakers  comin'  in  on  Botidi  Beach, 

While  she,  with  her  old  scrappy  costume  on. 

Walks  by  my  side,  an'  looks  into  my  face, 

An'  makes  creation  one  big  pleasure-place 

Where  golden  sand  basks  in  that  golden  weather — 

Yes  I  her  an'  me  together  ! 

I  do  me  bit, 

A  n'  make  no  fuss  of  it  ; 

BtU  for  to-day  I  somehov)  want  to  be 

At  home,  just  her  an'  me. 

(From  the  Sydney  "  Sunday  Times  ") 


VI 


CONTENTS 

An  Introduction  Mainly  About  Scouts 3 

PART  I 
"THE   CALL  TO  ARMS" 

CHAPTZS  PAGS 

I.     The  Call  Reaches  Some  Far-Out  Australians  15 

II.     An  All-British  Ship 21 

III.  Human  Snowballs 28 

IV.  Training-Camp  Life 37 

V.     Concentrated  for  Embarkation       ....  48 

VI.     Many  Weeks  at  Sea 62 

PART  II 

EGYPT 

VII.     The  Land  of  Sand  and  Sweat 77 

VIII.     Heliopolis 80 

IX.     The  Desert 85 

X.     Picketing  in  Cairo 90 

XI.     "Nipper" 101 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

PART  III 
GALLIPOLI 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XII.    The  Adventure  of  Youth iii 

XIII.  The  Landing  That  Could  Not  Succeed- 

But  Did  ii6 

XIV.  Holding  On  and  Nibbling 124 

XV.    The  Evacuation 131 

XVI.    "  Ships  That  Pass  ..  ." 138 

PART   IV 
THE  WESTERN  FRONT 

XVII.     Ferry  Post  and  the  Suez  Canal  Defenses     .  151 

XVIII.    First  Days  in  France 161 

XIX.    The  Battle  of  Fleurbaix 171 

XX.    Days  and  Nights  of  Strafe 186 

XXI.    The  ViUage  of  Sleep 201 

XXII.    The  Somme 213 

XXIII.  The  Army's  Pair  of  Eyes 226 

XXIV.  Nights  in  No  Man's  Land 236 

XXV.     Spy-Hunting 250 

XXVI.     Bapaumeand  "a  BUghty" 259 


CONTENTS  ix 

PART  V 
HOSPITAL  LIFE 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXVII.    In  France 271 

XXVIII.     In  London        .      .      .    ' 281 

XXIX.     The  Hospital-Ship 289 

XXX.     In  Australia 299 

XXXI.     Using  an  Irishman's  Nerve 305 

PART  VI 
MEDITATIONS    IN    THE  TRENCHES 

XXXII.     The  Right  Infantry  Weapons     .      .      .      .  311 

XXXIII.  The  Forcing-House  of  Bestiality      .      .      .  315 

XXXIV.  The  Psychology  of  Fear 320 

XXXV.     The  Splendor  of  the  Present  Opportunity  .  325 

XXXVI.     Not  a  Fight  for  "  Race  "  but  for  "  Right  "  330 

XXXVIL     "  Keeping  Faith  with  the  Dead  "     ...  334 

Poem,  "But  a  Short  Time  to  Live"    .      .  339 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

R.  Hugh  Knyvett Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

From  inland  towns  .  .  .  men  without  the  means  of 
paying  their  transportation  .  .  .  started  out  to 
walk  the  three  or  four  hundred  miles  ...  to  the 

nearest  camp 30 

"On  Show"  Before  Leaving  Home 56 

Anzac  Cove,  Gallipoli 118 

An  Australian  Camel  Corps     ...     i     ....  156 

"Us— Going  In" 172 

My  Own  Comrades  Waiting  for  Buses 210 

Ammunition  Going  Through  a  Somme  City  .     .     .     .  218 


"OVER  THERE" 
WITH  THE  AUSTRALIANS 


AN    INTRODUCTION     MAINLY 
ABOUT    SCOUTS 

I  AM  a  scout;  nature,  inclination,  and  fate  put 
me  into  that  branch  of  army  service.  In  trying 
to  tell  Australia's  story  I  have  of  necessity  en- 
larged on  the  work  of  the  scouts,  not  because 
theirs  is  more  important  than  other  branches  of  the 
service,  nor  they  braver  than  their  comrades  of 
other  units.  Nor  do  I  want  it  to  be  thought  that 
we  undergo  greater  danger  than  machine-gunners, 
grenadiers,  light  trench -mortar  men,  or  other 
specialists.  But,  frankly,  I  don't  know  much 
about  any  other  man's  job  but  my  own,  and  less 
than  I  ought  to  about  that.  To  introduce  you 
to  the  spirit,  action,  and  ideals  of  the  Australian 
army  I  have  to  intrude  my  own  personahty,  and 
if  in  the  following  pages  "what  I  did"  comes  out 
rather  strongly,  please  remember  I  am  but  "one 
of  the  boys,"  and  have  done  not  nearly  as  good 
work  as  ten  thousand  more. 

I  rejoice  though  that  I  was  a  scout,  and  would 
not  exchange  my  experiences  with  any,  not  even 
with  an  adventurer  from  the  pages  of  B.  O.  P.* 
Romance  bathes  the  very  name,  the  finger-tips 

*  Boys  Own  Paper. 
3 


4  "OVER  THERE" 

tingle  as  they  write  it,  and  there  was  not  infre- 
quently enough  interesting  work  to  make  one 
even  forget  to  be  afraid.  Very  happy  were  those 
days  when  I  lived  just  across  the  road  from 
Fritz,  for  we  held  dominion  over  No  Man's  Land, 
and  I  was  given  complete  freedom  in  planning 
and  executing  my  tiny  stunts.  The  general  said: 
"It  is  not  much  use  training  speciaHsts  if  you 
interfere  with  them,"  so  as  long  as  we  did  our 
job  we  were  given  a  free  hand. 

The  deepest  lines  are  graven  on  my  memory 
from  those  days,  not  by  the  thrilling  experiences 
— "th'  hairbreadth  'scapes" — but  by  the  fellow- 
ship of  the  men  I  knew.  An  American  general 
said  to  me  recently  that  scouts  were  bom,  not 
made.  It  may  be  so,  but  it  is  surprising  what 
opposite  types  of  men  became  our  best  scouts. 
There  were  two  without  equal:  one,  city-bred,  a 
college  graduate;  the  other  a  "bushie,"  writing 
his  name  with  difficulty. 

Ray  Wilson  was  a  nervous,  highly  strung  sort 
of  fellow,  almost  a  girl  in  his  sensitiveness.  In 
fact,  at  the  first  there  were  several  who  called 
him  Rachel,  but  they  soon  dropped  it,  for  he  was 
a  lovable  chap,  and  disarmed  his  enemies  with  his 
good  nature.  He  had  taken  his  arts  course,  but 
was  studying  music  when  he  enhsted,  and  he 
must  have  been  the  true  artist,  for  though  the 
boys  were  prejudiced  against  the  mandolin  as 
being  a  sissy  instrument,  when  he  played  they 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER  5 

woiild  sit  around  in  silence  for  hours.  What 
makes  real  friendship  between  men?  You  may- 
know  and  Hke  and  respect  a  fellow  for  years,  and 
that  is  as  far  as  it  goes,  when,  suddenly,  one  day 
something  happens — a  curtain  is  pulled  aside  and 
you  go  "ben"*  with  him  for  a  second — after- 
ward you  are  "friends,"  before  you  were  merely 
friendly  acquaintances. 

Ray  and  I  became  friends  in  this  wise.  We 
were  out  together  scouting  preparatory  to  a  raid, 
and  were  seeking  a  supposed  new  "listening  post" 
of  the  enemy.  There  had  been  a  very  heavy 
bombardment  of  the  German  trenches  all  day, 
and  it  was  only  held  up  for  three-quarters  of  an 
hour  to  let  us  do  our  job.  The  new-stale  earth 
turned  up  by  the  shells  extended  fifty  yards  in 
No  Man's  Land.  (Only  earth  that  has  been 
blown  on  by  the  wind  is  fresh  "over  there." 
Don't,  if  you  have  a  weak  stomach,  ever  turn  up 
any  earth ;  though  there  may  not  be  rotting  flesh, 
other  gases  are  imprisoned  in  the  soil.)  This 
night  the  wind  was  strong,  and  the  smell  of  warm 
blood  mingled  with  the  phosphorous  odor  of  high 
explosive,  and  there  was  that  other  sweet-sticky- 
sickly  smell  that  is  the  strongest  scent  of  a  recent 
battle-field.  It  was  a  vile,  tmwholesome  job,  and 
we  were  glad  that  our  time  was  limited  to  three- 

♦"Ben"  was  the  living-room  of  a  Scotch  cottage  where  only 
intimate  friends  were  admitted.  Ian  Madaren  says  of  a  very  good 
man:  "He  was  far  ben  wi  God." 


•'OVER  THERE 


»» 


quarters  of  an  hour,  when  our  artillery  would  re- 
open fire.  I  got  a  fearful  start  on  looking  at  my 
companion's  face  in  the  light  of  a  white  star- 
shell  ;  it  might  have  belonged  to  one  of  the  corpses 
lying  near,  with  the  lips  drawn  back,  the  eyes 
fixed,  and  the  complexion  ghastly.  He  replied  to 
my  signal  that  he  was  all  right,  but  a  nasty  sus- 
picion crept  into  my  mind — ^his  teeth  had  chat- 
tered so  much  as  to  make  him  unable  to  answer 
a  question  of  mine  just  before  we  left  the  trench, 
but  one  took  no  notice  of  a  thing  like  that,  for 
stage  fright  was  common  enough  to  all  of  us  be- 
fore a  job  actually  started.  But  "could  he  be 
depended  on?"  was  the  fear  that  was  now  haunt- 
ing me. 

Presently  some  Germans  came  out  of  their 
trench.  We  counted  eight  of  them  as  they 
crawled  down  inside  their  broken  wire.  We  cau- 
tiously followed  them,  expecting  that  they  were 
going  out  to  the  suspected  "listening  post,'"  but 
they  went  about  fifty  yards,  and  then  lay  down 
just  in  front  of  their  own  parapet.  After  about 
twenty  minutes  they  retiu-ned  the  way  they  came, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  reported  that  they  had 
been  over  to  our  wire  and  there  were  no  Aus- 
tralian patrols  out. 

This  had  taken  up  most  of  our  time,  and  I 
showed  Wilson  that  we  had  only  ten  minutes 
left,  and  that  we  had  better  get  back  so  as  not 
to  cut  it  too  fine.     I  was  rather  surprised  when 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER  7 

he  objected,  spelling  out  in  Morse  on  my  hand 
that  we  had  come  out  to  find  the  "listening  post," 
and  we  had  not  searched  up  to  the  right.  The 
Germans  were  evidently  getting  suspicious  of  the 
silence,  and  to  oin-  consternation  suddenly  put 
down  a  heavy  barrage  in  No  Man's  Land,  not 
more  than  thirty  yards  behind  us.  There  was 
no  getting  through  it,  and  we  grabbed  each  other's 
hand,  and  only  the  pressure  was  needed  to  signal 
the  one  word  "trapped."  When  the  shelling 
commenced  we  had  instinctively  made  for  a  drain 
about  four  feet  deep  that  ran  across  No  Man's 
Land,  and  "sat  up"  in  about  six  inches  of  water. 
Had  we  remained  on  top  the  light  from  the  shells 
would  have  revealed  us  only  too  plainly,  being 
behind  us.  I  was  afraid  to  look  at  my  wrist- 
watch,  and  when  I  did  pluck  up  sufficient  courage 
to  do  so,  I  might  have  saved  myself  the  trouble, 
as  the  opening  shell  from  our  batteries  at  the  same 
moment  proclaimed  that  the  time  was  up.  As 
we  huddled  down,  sitting  in  the  icy  water,  we 
realized  that  the  objective  of  our  own  gims  was 
less  than  ten  yards  from  us,  and  we  could  only 
hope  and  pray  that  no  more  wire-cutting  was 
going  to  be  done  that  night.  Once,  when  we 
were  covered  with  the  returning  debris,  we  in- 
stinctively threw  our  arms  roimd  each  other. 
When  we  shook  ourselves  free,  what  was  my 
amazement  to  find  my  companion  shaking  with 
— laughter.    There  was  now  no  need  for  silence. 


8  "OVER  THERE 


♦» 


a  shout  cotild  hardly  be  heard  a  few  yards  away. 
He  called  to  me:  "Did  you  ever  do  the  Blondin 
act  before,  because  we  are  walking  a  razor-edge 
right  now.  We're  between  the  devil  and  the 
'deep  sea,'  anyway,  and  I  think  myself  the  'deep 
sea'  will  get  us."  As  I  looked  at  him  something 
happened,  and  I  felt  Hght-hearted  as  though 
miles  from  danger — all  fear  of  death  was  taken 
away.  What  did  it  matter  if  we  were  killed? — it 
was  a  strange  sense  of  security  in  a  rather  tight 
place. 

After  a  short  while  our  bombardment  ceased. 
We  learned  afterward  that  word  was  sent  back  to 
the  artillery  that  we  were  still  out.  As  the  boche 
fire  also  stopped  soon  afterward,  we  were  able  to 
scurry  back  and  siuprise  our  friends  with  our 
safe  appearance. 

After  this  experience  Ray  Wilson  and  I  were 
closer  than  brothers — than  twin  brothers.  It 
was  only  a  common  danger  shared,  such  an  or- 
dinary thing  in  trench  life,  but  there  was  some- 
thing that  was  not  on  the  surface,  and  though  I 
was  his  officer,  our  friendship  knew  no  barrier. 
I  went  mad  for  a  while  when  his  body  was  found 
— mutilated — after  he  had  been  missing  three 
days.  Don't  talk  of  "not  hating"  to  a  man 
whose  friend  has  been  foully  murdered !  What 
if  he  had  been  yours  ? 

A  very  different  man  was  Dan  Macarthy,  a 
typical    outbacker.     All  the    schooling    he  ever 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER  9 

got  was  from  an  itinerant  teacher  who  would 
stay  for  a  week  at  the  house,  correct  and  set 
tasks,  returning  three  months  later  for  another 
week.  This  system  was  adopted  by  the  govern- 
ment for  the  sparsely  settled  districts  not  able 
to  support  a  teacher,  as  a  means  of  assisting  the 
parents  in  teaching  their  children  themselves. 
But  Dan's  parents  could  neither  read  nor  write, 
and  what  healthy  yoimgster,  with  "all  out-of- 
doors"  around  him,  would  study  by  himself. 
Dan  read  with  difficulty  and  wrote  with  greater, 
but  I  have  met  few  better-educated  men.  His 
eyesight  was  marvellous,  and  I  don't  think  that 
he  ever  forgot  an  incident,  however  slight.  After 
a  route  march  our  scouts  have  to  write  down 
everjrthing  they  saw,  not  omitting  the  very  small- 
est detail.  For  example,  if  we  pass  through  a 
village  they  have  to  give  an  estimate  by  examin- 
ing the  stores,  how  many  troops  it  could  support, 
and  so  on.  No  other  list  was  ever  as  large  as 
Dan's.  He  saw  and  remembered  ever3rthing. 
He  had  received  his  training  as  a  child  looking 
for  horses  in  a  paddock  so  large  that  if  you  did 
not  know  where  to  look  you  might  search  for  a 
week.  Out  there  in  the  coimtry  of  the  black- 
tracker  powers  of  observation  are  abnormally 
developed — ^lives  depend  on  it,  as  when  in  a 
drought  the  watercoiu-ses  dry  up,  and  only  the 
signs  written  on  the  ground  indicate  to  him  who 
can  read  them  where  the  life-saving  fluid  may  be 


lo  "OVER  THERE" 

found.  Dan  was  a  wonderful  scout,  a  true  and 
loyal  friend,  but  he  had  absolutely  no  "sense  of 
ownership."  He  thought  that  whatever  another 
man  possessed  he  had  a  right  to;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  any  one  else  had  an  equal  right  to  appro- 
priate anything  of  his  (Dan's).  He  never  put 
forward  any  theory  about  it,  but  would  just  help 
himself  to  anything  he  wanted,  not  troubling  to 
hide  it,  and  he  never  made  any  fuss  if  some  one 
picked  up  something  of  his  that  was  not  in  use. 
I  never  saw  such  a  practical  example  of  com- 
munism. At  first,  there  were  a  number  of  rows 
about  it,  but  after  a  while  if  any  of  the  boys 
missed  anything  they  would  go  and  hunt  through 
Dan's  kit  for  it.  The  only  time  he  made  a  fuss 
at  losing  anything  was  when  one  of  his  mates  for 
a  lark  took  his  rosary.  He  soon  discovered,  by 
shrewd  questioning,  who  it  was,  and  there  was 
a  fight  that  landed  them  both  in  the  guard-tent. 
The  boys  forbore  to  tease  him  about  his  incon- 
sistency when  he  said:  "It  was  mother's.  She 
brought  it  from  Ireland."  Dan  was  still  scouting 
when  I  was  sent  out  well-pimctured,  and  I  doubt 
if  there  are  any  who  have  accoimted  for  more  of 
the  Potsdam  swine  single-handed.  His  score  was 
known  to  be  over  a  hundred  when  I  left.  If  I 
can  get  back  again,  may  I  have  Dan  in  my  squad! 
These  two  are  but  types  of  the  boys  I  lived 
with  so  long,  and  got  to  love  so  well.  Few  of 
my  early  comrades  are  left  on  the  earth;  but  we 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER  il 

are  not  separated  even  from  those  who  have 
"gone  west,"  and  the  war  has  given  to  me,  in 
time  and  eternity,  many  real  friends. 

The  following  pages  are  not  a  history  of  the 
Australians.  I  have  no  means  of  collecting  and 
checking  data,  but  they  are  an  attempt  to  show 
the  true  nature  of  the  Australian  soldier,  and  sent 
out  with  the  hope  that  they  will  remind  some, 
in  this  great  American  democracy,  of  the  contri- 
bution made  by  the  freemen  who  live  across  the 
ocean  of  peace  from  you  to  "make  the  world 
safe  for  democracy." 

I  also  have  the  hope  that  the  stories  of  per- 
sonal experience  will  make  real  to  you  some  of 
the  men  whose  bodies  have  been  for  three  years 
part  of  that  human  rampart  that  has  kept  your 
homes  from  desolation,  and  your  daughters  from 
violation,  and  that  you  will  speed  in  sending  them 
succor  as  though  the  barrier  had  broken  and  the 
bestial  Him  were  even  now,  with  lust  dominant, 
smashing  at  your  own  door. 


PART  I 
"THE   CALL  TO  ARMS" 


"^^Ci.^Kia 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  CALL  REACHES  SOME  FAR-OUT 
AUSTRALLINS 

Just  where  the  white  man's  continent  pushes 
the  tip  of  its  horn  among  the  eastern  lands  there 
is  a  black  man's  land  half  as  large  as  Mexico  that 
is  administered  by  the  government  of  Australia. 
New  Guinea  has  all  the  romance  and  lure  of  un- 
explored regions.  It  is  a  country  of  nature's 
wonders,  a  treasure-chest  with  the  lid  yet  to  be 
raised  by  some  intrepid  discoverer.  There  are 
tree-climbing  fish,  and  pygmy  men,  mountains 
higher  and  rivers  greater  than  any  yet  discovered. 
To  the  north  of  Australia's  sUce  of  this  wonder- 
land the  Kaiser  was  squeezing  a  hunk  of  the  same 
island  in  his  mailed  fist. 

The  contrast  between  the  administration  of 
these  two  portions  of  the  same  land  forms  the 
best  answer  to  the  question:  "What  shall  be  done 
with  Germany's  colonies?" 

In  German  New  Guinea  there  have  always 
been  more  soldiers  than  civilians,  cannibalism  is 
rife,  and  life  and  property  are  insecure  outside 
the  immediate  limits  of  the  barracks.  In  British 
New  Guinea  or  Papua  there  has  never  been  a 

15 


i6  "OVER  THERE" 

single  soldier  and  cannibalism  is  abolished.  A 
white  woman,  Beatrice  Grimshaw,  travelled 
through  the  greater  part  of  it  unprotected  and 
unmolested. 

The  following  story  told  of  Sir  William  Mac- 
gregor,  the  first  administrator,  shows  the  way  of 
Britishers  in  governing  native  races.  He  one  day 
marched  into  a  village  where  five  hundred  war- 
riors were  assembled  for  a  head-himting  expedi- 
tion. Sir  William,  then  Doctor  Macgregor,  had 
with  him  two  white  men  and  twelve  native  police. 
He  strode  into  the  centre  of  these  blood-thirsting 
savages,  grasped  the  chief  by  the  scruff  of  the 
neck,  kicked  him  around  the  circle  of  his  war- 
riors, demanded  an  immediate  apology  and  the 
payment  of  a  fine  for  the  transgression  of  the 
Great  White  Mother's  orders  for  peace — the  bluff 
worked,  as  it  always  does. 

Australia  has  now  added  the  late  German 
colony  Hermanlohe,  or  German  New  Guinea,  to 
the  southern  portion,  making  an  Australian  crown 
colony  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
square  miles.  This  was  taken  by  a  force  of 
Australian  troops  conveyed  in  Australian  ships. 
I  was  not  fortunate  enough  to  be  a  member  of  the 
expedition,  but  the  ultimatum  issued  to  the  Ger- 
man commandant  resulted  in  the  Australian  flag 
flying  over  the  governor's  residence  at  Rabaul 
within  a  few  hours  of  the  appearance  of  the 
Australian  ships. 


SOME  FAR-OUT  AUSTRALIANS      17 

It  was  soon  evident  to  the  Australians  that 
this  was  intended  to  be  a  German  naval  station 
and  military  post  of  great  importance.  Enough 
munition,  and  accommodation  for  troops  were 
there  to  show  that  it  was  to  be  the  jumping-off 
place  for  an  attack  on  Australia.  Such  arma- 
ment could  never  have  been  meant  merely  to 
impel  Kultur  on  the  poor,  harmless  blacks  with 
their  blowpipes  and  bows  and  arrows. 

Every  Australian  is  determined  that  these  of 
nature's  children  shall  not  come  again  within 
reach  of  German  brutality,  but  that  they  shall 
know  fair  play  and  good  government  such  as  the 
British  race  everywhere  gives  to  the  "nigger," 
having  a  sense  of  responsibility  toward  him  that 
the  men  of  this  breed  cannot  escape.  It  would 
almost  seem  that  the  Almighty  has  laid  the  black 
man's  burden  on  the  shoulders  of  the  Briton,  as 
he  was  the  first  to  abolish  slavery,  and  no  other 
people  govern  colored  peoples  for  the  sole  benefit 
of  the  governed. 

In  every  British  colony  other  nations  can  trade 
on  equal  terms,  and  millions  of  pounds  sterling 
are  squeezed  from  the  British  public  every  year  to 
provide  for  the  well-being  of  native  peoples,  wor- 
shipping strange  deities  and  jabbering  a  gibberish 
that  would  sound  to  an  American  like  a  gramo- 
phone-shop gone  crazy !  While  other  nations 
make  their  colonies  pay  for  the  protection  they 
give  them,  the  British  people  pay  very  heavily  for 


i8  "OVER  THERE" 

the  privilege  (?)  of  sheltering  and  civilizing  these 
far-flung,  strange  peoples.  No  true  friend  of 
the  black  man  can  consider  the  possibility  of 
handing  him  back  to  the  cruelty  of  Teutonic 
"forced  Kultur." 

The  most  heartless  of  Japanese  gardeners  could 
never  twist  and  torture  a  plant  into  freak  beauty 
more  surely  than  the  German  system  of  govern- 
ment would  compress  the  governed  into  a  sham 
civilization.  Australia  would  fight  again  sooner 
than  that  a  German  establishment  should  ofiEend 
our  sense  of  justice  and  menace  our  peace  near 
our  northern  shores. 

The  western  half  of  New  Guinea  (and]  the  least 
known)  belongs  to  Holland,  and  it  was  in  the 
waters  of  this  coast  that  the  Australians  whose 
story  I  am  telling  were  living  and  working 
when  the  tocsin  of  war  sounded.  These  sons  of 
empire  were  registered  imder  a  Dutch  name  with 
their  charter  to  work  there  from  the  Dutch  Gov- 
ernment, yet  when  they  heard  that  men  were 
needed  for  the  Australian  army,  they  dropped 
everything  and  hastened  south  to  enlist.  The 
long-obeyed  calls  of  large  profits  and  novel  ex- 
periences, the  lure  of  an  adventurous  life,  were 
drowned  by  the  bugle  notes  of  the  Australian 
"call  to  arms." 

These  were  young  men  who  had  left  the  shores 
of  their  native  country,  venturing  farther  out 
a-sea,  ever  seeking  pearls  of  great  price.    They 


SOME  FAR-OUT  AUSTRALIANS      19 

had  once  been  engaged  in  pearl-fishing  from  the 
northernmost  point  of  AustraHa — Thursday- 
Island — that  eastern  and  cosmopoHtan  village 
squatting  on  the  soil  of  a  continent  sacred  to  the 
white  races. 

When  the  handful  of  white  people  holding  this 
newest  continent  first  flaunted  their  banner  of 
*'No  Trespassers"  in  the  face  of  the  multicolored 
millions  of  Asia,  they  declared  their  willingness  to 
sweat  and  toil  even  under  tropic  skies,  and  de- 
velop their  country  without  the  aid  of  the  cheap 
labor  of  the  rice-eating,  mat-sleeping,  fast-breed- 
ing spawn  of  the  man-burdened  East.  But  this 
policy  came  well-nigh  to  being  the  death-blow  to 
one  Httle  industry  of  the  north,  so  far  from  the 
ken  of  the  legislators  in  Sydney  and  Melbourne 
as  to   have   almost  escaped   their  recognizance. 

The  largest  pearling-ground  in  the  world  is  just 
to  the  north  of  this  lovely  Southland.  It  would 
seem  as  though  the  aesthetic  oyster  that  lines  its 
home  with  the  tinting  of  heaven  and  has  caught 
the  "tears  of  angels,"  petrifying  them  as  perma- 
nent souvenirs,  loves  to  make  its  home  as  near  to 
this  earthly  paradise  as  the  ocean  will  permit. 

When  the  law  decreed  that  only  white  labor 
must  be  employed  on  the  fleets  a  number  of  the 
pearlers  went  north  and  became  Dutch  citizens, 
for  from  ports  in  the  Dutch  Indies  they  could 
work  Australian  waters  up  to  the  three-mile  limit. 

But  as  soon  as  it  was  known  that  AustraHa 


20  "OVER  THERE" 

needed  men,  that  we  were  at  war,  then  politics 
and  profits  could  go  hang:  at  heart  they  were  all 
Australians  and  would  not  be  behind  any  in  of- 
fering their  lives.  It  took  but  a  few  days  to  pay 
off  the  crews,  send  the  Jap  divers  where  they  be- 
longed, beach  the  schooners,  and  take  the  fastest 
steamer  back  HOME — then  enhst,  and  away, 
with  front  seats  for  the  biggest  show  on  earth. 


CHAPTER  II 
AN  ALL-BRITISH  SHIP 

We  flew  the  Dutch  flag,  we  were  registered  in 
a  Dutch  port,  but  every  timber  in  that  British- 
built  ship  creaked  out  a  protest,  and  there  paced 
the  quarter-deck  five  registered  Dutchmen  who 
could  not  croak  "Gott-verdammter !"  if  their 
lives  depended  on  it,  and  who  guzzled  "rice 
taffie"  in  a  very  un-Dutch  manner.  Generally 
they  forgot  that  they  had  sold  their  birthright. 
Ever  their  eyes  turned  southward,  which  was 
homeward,  and  only  the  mention  of  the  Labor 
party  brought  to  their  minds  the  reason  for  leav- 
ing their  native  land.  Each  visit  to  port  rubbed 
in  the  fact  that  they  were  now  Dutchmen,  as  there 
were  always  blue  papers  to  be  signed  and  fresh 
taxes  to  be  paid. 

There  was  George  Hym,  who  was  a  member  of 
every  learned  society  in  England.  The  only 
letter  of  the  alphabet  he  did  not  have  after  his 
name  was  "I,"  and  that  was  because  he  did  not 
happen  to  have  been  bom  in  Indiana,  Had  that 
accident  happened  to  him,  even  the  Indiana  So- 
ciety would  have  given  him  a  place  at  the  speak- 
er's table.  He  was  the  skipper  of  our  fleet,  had 
an   extra   master's    certificate   entitling   him    to 

21 


22  "OVER  THERE" 

command  even  the  Mauretania.  Many  yams 
were  invented  to  explain  his  being  with  us.  It 
was  as  if  "John  D."  should  be  found  peddling 
hair-oil. 

Some  said  he  had  murdered  his  grandmother- 
in-law  and  dare  not  pass  the  time  of  day  with 
Mr.  Murphy  in  blue.  Others  claimed  that  the 
crime  was  far  greater — the  murder  of  a  stately 
ship — and  that  the  marine  underwriters  would 
have  paid  handsomely  for  the  knowledge  of  his 
whereabouts.  At  any  rate,  he  never  left  the 
ship  while  in  port,  and  he  seemed  to  have  no 
relatives. 

There  were  times  when  the  black  cloud  was 
upon  him  and  our  voices  were  hushed  to  whis- 
pers lest  the  vibration  should  cause  it  to  break 
in  fury  on  our  own  heads — then  he  would  flog 
the  crew  with  a  wire  hawser,  and  his  language 
would  cause  the  paint  to  blister  on  the  deck. 
At  other  times  the  memory  of  his  "mother" 
would  steal  over  his  spirit  and  in  a  sweet  tenor 
he  would  croon  the  old-time  hymns  and  the  old 
ship  would  creak  its  loving  accompaniment, 
and  the  imopened  shell-fish  would  waft  the  in- 
cense heavenward. 

We  believed  most  of  his  ill  temper  was  due  to 
the  foreign  flag  hanging  at  our  stem  that  the 
Sydney-built  ship  was  ever  trying  to  hide  be- 
neath a  wave.  He  had  sailed  every  sea,  with 
no  other  flag  above  him  than  the  Union  Jack, 


AN  ALL-BRITISH  SHIP  23 

and  felt  maybe  that  even  his  misdeeds  deserved 
not  the  covering  of  less  bright  colors.  It  was  like 
a  ringmaster  fallen  on  hard  times  having  to  act 
the  part  of  "clown,"  But  needs  must  where  ne- 
cessity drives,  and  as  his  own  country  would  have 
none  of  him,  he  was  tolerant  of  the  flag  that  hid 
him  from  the  "sleuths"  of  British  law. 

BUT  WAR  CAME,  and  the  chance  to  redeem 
himself.  What  washes  so  clean  as  blood — and 
many  a  stained  escutcheon  has  in  these  times 
been  cleansed  and  renewed — bathed  in  the  hot 
blood  poured  out  freely  by  the  "sons  of  the  line." 
Whether  the  fleet  was  laid  up  or  not,  George  was 
going !  He  might  be  over  age,  but  no  one  could 
say  what  age  he  really  was,  and  he  was  tougher 
than  most  men  half  his  age.  He  left  Queens- 
land for  Egypt  with  the  Remount  Unit  in  191 5, 
and  is  to-day  in  Jerusalem  with  the  British  forces. 
Maybe  he  is  treading  the  Via  Dolorosa  gazing  at 
a  place  called  Calvary,  hoping  that  One  will  re- 
member that  he,  too,  had  offered  his  life  a  ran- 
som for  past  sins,  which  were  many. 

"For  ours  shall  be  Jerusalem,  the  golden  city  blest, 
The  happy  home  of  which  we've  sung,  in  every  land 

and  every  tongue, 
When  there  the  pure  white  cross  is  hung, 
Great  spirits  shall  have  rest."* 


tt 


Prince  Dressup  was  the  dandy  of  the  ship,  a 
swell  guy"  even  at  sea.     His  singlets  were  open- 

*  Mrs.  A.  H.  Spicer,  Chicago. 


24  "OVER  THERE" 

work,  his  moleskins  were  tailor-made,  and  his 
toe-nails  were  pedicured.  The  others  wore  only 
singlets  and  "pants,"  but  had  the  regulation  cos- 
tume been  as  in  the  Garden  of  Eden,  his  fig-leaf 
would  have  been  the  greenest  and  freshest  there ! 

At  one  time  he  had  been  the  best-dressed  man  in 
Sydney,  giving  the  glad  and  glassy  optic  to  every 
flapper  whose  clocked  silk  stockings  caught  his 
fancy.  Some  girl  must  have  jilted  him,  and  this 
was  his  revenge  on  the  fluffy  things,  the  choice  of 
a  life  where  none  of  them  could  feast  their  eyes  on 
his  immaculate  masculine  eligibility.  Or,  maybe, 
he  was  really  in  love,  and  some  true  woman  had 
told  him  only  to  return  to  her  when  he  had  proved 
himself  a  man.  If  so,  he  had  chosen  the  best 
forcing-school  for  real  manhood  that  existed  prior 
to  the  war.  And  there  was  real  stuff  in  Prince 
Dressup;  for,  although  there  was  distinction  and 
style  even  in  the  way  he  opened  shell-fish,  he  took 
his  share  of  the  dirty  work,  and  when  the  time 
came  he  would  not  let  another  man  take  his  place 
in  the  ranks  of  the  fighters  for  Australia's  free- 
dom. He  said,  when  we  knew  of  the  war,  "that 
it  would  be  rather  good  fun,"  and  when  he  died 
on  Gallipoli,  the  bullet  that  passed  through  his 
lungs  had  first  of  all  come  through  the  body  of  a 
comrade  on  his  back. 

Chum  Shrimp's  size  was  the  joke  of  the  ship — 
he  must  have  weighed  three  hundred  pounds. 
He  could  only  pass  through  a  door  sideways,  and 


AN  ALL-BRITISH  SHIP  25 

the  "Binghis  "  (natives  of  New  Guinea),  when  they 
saw  him,  blamed  him  for  a  recent  tidal  wave, 
saying  that  he  had  fallen  overboard.  He  was  the 
most  active  man  I  have  ever  known,  and  on  rough 
days  would  board  the  schooner  by  catching  the 
dinghee  boom  with  one  hand  as  it  dipped  toward 
the  launch,  and  swing  himself  hand  over  hand  in- 
board. I  never  expected  the  schooner  to  com- 
plete the  opposite  roll  until  Chum  was  "play- 
ing plum"  in  the  centre. 

Chum's  parentage  was  romantic — his  father  a 
government  official  and  his  mother  an  island 
princess — he  himself  being  one  of  the  whitest 
men  I  have  ever  been  privileged  to  call  friend. 
We  never  thought  he  would  get  into  the  army, 
for  though  he  was  as  strong  as  any  two  of  us, 
he  would  require  the  cloth  of  three  men's  suits 
for  his  uniform,  and  he  would  always  have  to 
be  the  blank  file  in  a  column  of  fours,  as  four 
of  his  size  would  spread  across  the  street,  and  to 
*' cover  off"  the  four  behind  them  would  just 
march  in  the  rear  of  their  spinal  columns,  having 
a  driveway  between  each  of  them. 

He  was  determined  to  enlist,  and  a  wise  gov- 
ernment solved  the  problem  by  making  him  quar- 
termaster, thus  insuring  in  the  only  way  possible 
that  Chum  would  have  a  sufficient  supply  of 
"grub."  This  job  was  also  right  in  his  hands, 
because  he  possessed  considerable  business  in- 
stinct;   and  you  remember  Lord  Kitchener  said 


26  "OVER  THERE" 

of  the  quartermaster  that  he  was  the  only  man 
in  the  army  whose  salary  he  did  not  know ! 

The  fifth  Britisher  of  our  crew  will  growl  him- 
self into  your  favor,  being  a  well-bred  British 
bulldog,  looking  down  with  pity  on  the  tykes  of 
mixed  blood.  Even  before  the  war  he  showed 
his  anti-German  feelings  by  his  treatment  of  a 
pet  pig  that  we  had  on  the  schooner. 

As  I  look  back  on  it,  our  evening  sport  was  a 
prophecy  of  what  is  to-day  happening  on  the 
western  front.  "Torres"  would  stand  growling 
and  snapping  at  the  porker,  which  would  squeal 
and  try  to  get  away,  but  his  hoofs  could  not  grip 
the  slippery  deck,  and  though  his  feet  were  going 
so  fast  as  to  be  blurred  he  would  not  be  making 
an  inch  of  progress.  The  Germans  have  been 
squealing  and  wanting  to  get  away  from  the 
British  bulldog  but  they  do  not  know  how  to 
retire  without  collapse. 

This  pig  had  a  habit  of  curling  up  among  the 
anchor  chains,  and  while  we  only  used  one  anchor 
he  escaped  injury,  but  one  rough  day  when  both 
anchors  were  dropped  simultaneously,  piggy  shot 
into  the  air  with  a  broken  back.  The  Germans 
have  withstood  the  AlHes  so  far,  but  now  that 
America  is  with  us,  the  back  of  the  German  re- 
sistance will  soon  be  broken. 

Of  course  Torres  enlisted !  In  the  beginning 
he  was  with  Chum,  and  there  was  danger  of  his 
growing  fat  of  body  and  soft  of  soul  in  the  quar- 


AN  ALL-BRITISH  SHIP  27 

termaster's  store,  but  he  was  rescued  in  time, 
and  after  months  of  exciting  researches  into  ca- 
nine history  among  the  bones  of  the  tombs  of 
Egypt  he  earned  renown  at  Armentieres,  as  his 
body  was  found  in  No  Man's  Land  with  his  head 
in  the  cold  hand  of  a  comrade  to  whom  he  had 
attached  himself,  and  I  believe  his  spirit  has 
joined  the  deathless  army  of  the  unburied  dead 
that  watch  over  our  patrols  and  inspire  our  sen- 
tries with  the  realization  that  on  an  Australian 
front  No  Man's  Land  has  shrunk  and  our  pos- 
session reaches  right  up  to  the  enemy  barbed 
wire. 


CHAPTER  III 
HUMAN  SNOWBALLS 

*Way  out  back  in  the  Never  Never  Land  of 
Australia  there  Hves  a  patriotic  breed  of  humans 
who  know  Httle  of  the  comforts  of  civilized  life, 
whose  homes  are  bare,  where  coin  is  rarely  seen, 
but  who  have  as  red  blood  and  as  clean  minds 
as  any  race  on  earth. 

The  little  town  of  Muttaburra,  for  instance, 
has  a  population  of  two  hiuidred,  one-half  of 
whom  are  eligible  for  military  service. 

They  live  in  galvanized-iron  humpies  with  dirt 
floors,  newspaper-covered  walls,  sacking  stretched 
across  poles  for  beds,  kerosene-boxes  for  chairs, 
and  a  table  made  from  saplings.  The  water  for 
household  uses  is  delivered  to  the  door  by  modem 
Dianas  driving  a  team  of  goats  at  twenty-five 
cents  per  kerosene-tin,  which  is  not  so  dear  when 
you  know  that  it  has  to  be  brought  from  a  "billa- 
bong"*  ten  miles  away. 

Most  of  the  men  in  such  towns  work  as  "rouse- 
abouts"  (handy  men)  on  the  siurounding  sheep 
and  cattle  stations.  At  shearing-time  the  "gaf- 
fers" (grandfathers)  and  young  boys  get  employ- 

*  Billabong — a  water-hole  in  a  dry  river-course. 
28 


HUMAN  SNOWBALLS  29 

ment    as    "pickers-up"    and    "rollers."     E very- 
shearer  keeps  three  men  at  high  speed  attending 
to  him.     One  picks  up  the  fleece  in  such  a  man-, 
ner  as  to  spread  it  out  on  the  table  in  one  throw; 
another  one  pulls  off  the  ends  and  rolls  it   so 
that  the  wool-classer  can  see  at  a  glance  the 
length  of  the  wool  and  weight  of  the  fleece;    an- 
other, called  the  "sweeper,"  gathers  into  a  basket 
the  trimmings  and  odd  pieces.     These  casual  la- 
borers and  rouseabouts  are  paid  ten  dollars  a 
week,   while  the  shearer  works  on  piece  work, 
receiving  six  dollars  for  each  hundred  sheep  shorn, 
and  it  is  a  slow  man  who  does  not  average  one 
himdred  and  fifty  per  day.     All  the  shearing  is 
done   by   machine,    and   in  Western   Queensland 
good  shearers  are  in  constant  employment  for  ten 
months  of  the  year.     The  shearers  have  a  sepa- 
rate union  from  the  rouseabouts,  and  there  is  a 
good  deal  of  ill  feeling  between  the  two  classes. 
When  the  shearers  want  a  spell  I  have  known  them 
declare  by  a  majority  vote  that  the  sheep  were 
"wet,"  though  there  had  not  been  any  rain  for 
months !     There  is  a  law  that  says  that  shearers 
must  not  be  asked  to  shear  "wet"  sheep,  as  it  is 
supposed  to  give  them  a  peculiar  disease.     The 
rouseabouts    do    not    mind    these    "slow-down" 
strikes,  as  they  get  paid  anyway,  but  the  shearers 
are  very  bitter  when  these  have  a  dispute  with  the 
boss  and  strike,  for  it  cuts  down  their  earnings, 
probably  just  when  they  wanted  to  finish  the  shed 


30  ««OVER  THERE" 

so  as  to  get  a  "stand"  at  the  commencement  of 
shearing  near  by. 

When  the  war  broke  out  the  problem  of  the 
government  was  how  to  collect  the  volunteers 
from  these  outback  towns  for  active  service.  It 
would  cost  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  dollars 
per  head  in  railway  fare  to  bring  them  into 
camp. 

The  outbacker,  however,  solved  the  problem 
without  waiting  for  the  government  to  make  up 
its  mind.  They  just  made  up  their  swags  and 
"humped  the  bluey  "  *  for  the  coast.  That  is  how 
the  remarkable  phenomenon  of  the  human  snow- 
ball marches  commenced. 

Simultaneously  from  inland  towns  in  different 
parts  of  Australia  men  without  the  means  of  pay- 
ing their  transportation  to  Sydney  or  Melbourne 
simply  started  out  to  walk  the  three  or  fotu  him- 
dred  miles  from  their  homes  to  the  nearest  camp. 
In  the  beginning  there  would  just  be  half  a  dozen 
or  so,  but  as  they  reached  the  next  township  they 
would  tell  where  they  were  bound,  and  more 
would  join.  Passing  by  boimdary  riders'  and 
prospectors'  huts,  they  would  pick  up  here  and 
there  another  red-blood  who  could  not  resist  the 
chance  of  being  in  a  real  ding-dong  fight.  Many 
were  grizzled  and  gray,  but  as  hard  as  nails,  and 
no  one  could  prove  that  they  were  over  the  age 

*  Humped  the  bluey — tramped  across  country  with  blue  blanket 
(or  swag). 


13 


1-1 


a 

E 

a 

u 


O     lU 


c 


■^  ?^ 


j=   c 


C 


HUMAN  SNOWBALLS  31 

for  enlistment,  for  they  themselves  did  not  know- 
how  old  they  were ! 


"Said  the  squatter,  'Mike,  you're  crazy,  they  have  soldier- 
men  a-plenty ! 
You're  as  grizzled  as  a  badger,  and  you're  sixty  year  or  so ! ' 
'But  I  haven't  missed  a  scrap,'  says  I,  'since  I  was  one- 
and-twenty, 
And  shall  I  miss  the  biggest  ?    You  can  bet  your  whiskers 
—No!!'"* 

Presently  the  telegraph-wires  got  busy,  and  the 
defense  department  in  Melbourne  rubbed  its  eyes 
and  sat  up.  As  usual,  the  country  was  bigger 
than  its  rulers,  and  more  men  were  coming  in 
than  could  be  coped  with.  The  whole  cotmtry 
was  a  catchment  of  patriotism — a  huge  river- 
basin — and  these  marching  bands  from  the  far- 
out  country  were  the  tributaries  which  fed  the 
huge  river  of  men  which  flowed  from  the  State 
capitals  to  the  concentration  camps  in  Sydney 
and  Melbourne.  The  leading  newspapers  soon 
were  full  of  the  story  of  these  men  from  the  bush 
who  could  not  wait  for  the  government  to  gather 
them  in,  and  none  should  deny  them  the  right  to 
fight  for  their  liberties. 

Strange  men  these,  as  they  tramped  into  a  bush 
township,  feet  tied  up  in  sacking,  old  felt  hats  on 
their  heads,  moleskins  and  shirt,  "bluey,"  or  blue 
blanket,  and  "billy,"  or  quart  canister,  for  boiling 

*  Robert  W.  Service. 


32  "OVER  THERE" 

tea  slung  over  their  backs,  all  white  from  the 
dust  of  the  road. 

Old  Tom  Coghlan  was  there.  He  had  lived  in 
a  boimdary  hut  for  twenty  years,  only  seeing 
another  human  being  once  a  month,  when  his 
rations  were  brought  from  the  head  station. 
His  conversation  for  days,  now  that  he  was  with 
companions,  would  be  limited  to  two  distinctive 
grunts,  one  meaning  "yes,"  the  other  "no."  But 
on  the  station  he  had  been  known  to  harangue  for 
hours  a  jam- tin  on  a  post,  declaiming  on  the  in- 
iquities of  a  capitalist  government.  Those  who 
heard  him  as  they  hid  behind  a  gum-tree  declared 
his  language  then  was  that  of  a  college  man. 
Probably  he  was  the  scion  of  some  noble  house 
— there  are  many  of  them  out  there  in  the  land 
where  no  one  cares  about  your  past. 

Here,  too,  was  young  Bill  Squires,  who  had 
reached  the  age  of  twenty-one  without  having 
seen  a  parson,  and  asked  a  bush  missionary  who 
inquired  if  he  knew  Jesus  Christ:  "What  kind  of 
horse  does  he  ride?" 

Not  much  of  an  army,  this  band.  They  would 
not  have  impressed  a  drill-sergeant.  To  many 
even  in  those  towns  they  were  just  a  niimber  of 
sundowners.*  They  would  act  the  part,  arriv- 
ing as  the  sun  was  setting  and,  throwing  their 
swags  on  the  veranda  of  the  hotel,  lining  up  to  the 
bar,  eyeing  the  loungers  there  to  see  who  would 

*  Sundowners — tramps  who  arrive  at  a  ranch  at  sundown  expect- 
ing to  be  put  up  for  the  night. 


HUMAN  SNOWBALLS  33 

stand  treat.  Only  the  eye  of  God  Almighty  could 
see  that  beneath  the  dust  and  rags  there  were 
hearts  beating  with  love  for  country,  and  spirits 
exulting  in  the  opportunity  offering  in  the  under- 
taking of  a  man-size  job.  Perhaps  a  Kitchener 
would  have  seen  that  the  slouch  was  but  habit 
and  the  nonchalance  merely  a  cloak  for  enthu- 
siasm, but  even  he  would  hardly  have  guessed 
that  these  were  the  men  who  would  win  on  Gal- 
lipoli  the  praise  of  the  greatest  British  generals, 
who  called  them  "the  greatest  fighters  in  the 
world."  Soon  the  news  of  these  bands  "on  the 
wallaby"*  at  the  call  of  country  caught  the 
imagination  of  the  whole  nation.  Outback  was 
terra  incognita  to  the  city-bred  Australian,  but 
that  these  men  who  were  coming  to  offer  their 
lives  should  walk  into  the  city  barefoot  could  not 
be  thought  of.  The  government  was  soon  con- 
vinced that  the  weeks,  and,  in  some  cases,  months 
that  would  be  occupied  in  this  long  tramp  need 
not  be  wasted.  Military  training  could  be  given 
on  the  way,  and  they  might  arrive  in  camp  fin-' 
ished  soldiers. 

So  the  snowball  marches  were  at  last  recognized 
and  controlled  by  the  government.  Whenever 
as  many  as  fifty  had  been  gathered  together,  in- 
structors, boots,  and  uniforms  were  sent  along, 
and  the  march  partook  of  a  military  character. 
No  longer  were  they  sundowners;  they  marched 
into  town  at  the  end  of  the  day,  four  abreast,  in 

*  On  the  wallaby — on  the  tramp. 


34  "OVER  THERE" 

proper  column  of  route,  with  a  sergeant  swinging 
his  cane  at  the  head,  sometimes  keeping  step  to 
the  tune  of  mouth-organs.  The  uniforms  were 
merely  of  blue  dungaree  with  white  calico  hats, 
but  they  were  serviceable,  and  all  being  dressed 
alike  made  them  look  somewhat  soldierly.  The  ser- 
geants always  had  an  eye  open  for  more  recruits, 
and  every  town  and  station  they  passed  through 
became  a  rallying-point  for  aspirants  to  the  army. 

Their  coming  was  now  heralded — local  shire 
coimcillors  gathered  to  greet  them,  streets  were 
beflagged,  dinners  were  given — always,  at  every 
opportunity,  appeals  were  made  for  more  recruits. 
Sometimes,  to  the  embarrassment  of  many  a 
bushman  whose  meetings  with  women  had  been 
few  and  far  between,  there  were  many  girls  who 
in  their  enthusiasm  farewelled  them  with  kisses, 
though  one  can  hardly  imagine  even  a  shy  bush- 
man  failing  to  appreciate  these  unaccustomed 
sweets ! 

The  snowballs  grew  rapidly.  Farmers  let  down 
their  fences,  and  they  marched  triumphantly 
through  growing  crops,  each  farmer  vying  with 
another  to  do  honor  to  these  men  coming  from 
the  ends  of  the  earth  to  deliver  democracy. 

"They're  fools,  you  say?     Maybe  you're  right. 
They'll  have  no  peace  unless  they  fight. 
They've  ceased  to  think;  they  only  know 
They've  got  to  go — yes,  got  to  go !"  * 

*  Robert  W.  Service. 


HUMAN  SNOWBALLS  35 

By  the  time  they  reached  the  camp  many  of 
these  groups  had  grown  to  regiments,  and  under 
names  such  as  "Coo-ees,"  "Kangaroos,"  "Wal- 
laroos," they  marched  through  the  streets  of 
Sydney  between  cheering  throngs  to  the  tune  of 
brass  bands.  Such  was  the  intention,  at  any 
rate,  but  before  they  reached  the  railway  sta- 
tion their  military  formation  was  broken  up, 
and  in  their  enthusiasm  the  people  of  the  capital 
practically  mobbed  these  "outbackers,"  loading 
them,  not  merely  with  cigarettes  and  candy,  but 
before  night  came  there  was  many  a  bushman 
who  had  never  seen  a  city  before  who  carried  a 
load  of  liquor  that  made  even  his  well-seasoned 
head  spin.  The  "chain  lightning"  of  the  bush 
was  outclassed  with  the  cinematograph  whiskey 
of  the  city,  that  made  its  moving  throngs  and 
streets  pass  before  his  eyes  like  a  kaleidoscope. 
A  day  or  two  in  camp  soon  restored  their  balance. 
The  training  en  route  bore  fruit;  their  comman- 
dant was  so  impressed  that  some  of  these  regi- 
ments were  equipped  and  officered,  in  a  few  weeks 
embarking  for  overseas. 

Men  from  these  regiments  can  be  picked  out 
to-day  in  London.  If  you  see  an  Australian  in 
a  slouch-hat  galloping  his  horse  down  Rotten 
Row,  expecting  "Algy"  and  "Gertrude"  to  give 
him  a  clear  course,  be  sure  it's  a  "Coo-ee !" 

When  some  Australian  sprawls  in  the  Troca- 
dero,  inviting  himself  to  table  with  the  Earl  of 


36  "OVER  THERE'' 

So-and-so,  asking  him  to  pass  the  butter,  it's 
likely  to  be  one  of  the  "Kangaroos." 

These  Austrahans  have  had  no  master  in  their 
lives  but  the  pitiless  drought;  they  respect  not 
Kings,  but  they  love  a  real  man  who  knows  not 
fear  and  is  kind  to  a  horse.  Masefield  said  of 
them  in  "GallipoH":  "They  were  in  the  pink  of 
condition  and  gave  a  damn  for  no  one !" 

There  is  a  certain  hospital  in  London  provided 
by  a  certain  grand  lady  for  convalescent  Aus- 
trahans. She  is  very  kind,  but  rather  inclined  to 
treat  the  patients  as  "exhibits"  and  show  them 
off  to  her  "tony"  friends.  The  Austrahans  bore 
this  meekly  for  some  time,  but  one  day  it  was 
announced  that  some  high  personages  would  be 
visitors.  On  their  arrival  they  found  every  bed 
was  placarded,  such  as  this:  "No.  i  Bed — This 
is  a  Military  Cross  Hero.  He'  bimiped  into  a 
trench  of  Fritzes.  If  he  hides  his  face  under  the 
bedclothes,  it  is  because  he  is  sensitive  of  his 
looks."  "No.  2  Bed— Here  lies  a  D.S.O.  (Dirty 
Stop-Out). 

" '  He  stopped  out  of  the  trenches  as  long  as  he  could. 
And  now  the  old  blighter  must  stop  out  for  good.' " 

The  bushman  is  a  real  man  under  all  circum- 
stances, having  no  awe  of  authority,  no  hesita- 
tion in  speaking  his  mind,  but  a  great  reverence 
for  women  and  a  real  respect  for  a  religion  that 
does  not  savor  of  cant. 


CHAPTER  IV 
TRAINING-CAMP  LIFE 

* 

The  town  of  Bendigo  received  a  great  increase 
of  liveliness  by  having  to  accommodate  four  or 
five  thousand  soldiers. 

It  had  known  some  lively  times  in  the  old  gold 
days,  but  when  its  "yellow  love"  became  thin, 
thousands  of  people  went  to  other  fields  and  the 
former  flourishing  city  became  a  husk  and  as  dull 
as  only  a  declining  mining  city  can  become;  but, 
as  usually  happens  in  old  mining  districts,  when 
the  gold  gives  out,  the  solid  wealth  of  the  soil  in 
crop-growing  capacity  is  developed,  and  Bendigo 
is  prospering  again  through  the  labors  of  the  till- 
ers of  the  soil,  if  not  by  the  delvings  of  its  miners. 
Still,  farmers  have  not  the  same  habit  of  "blow- 
ing in  their  earnings"  and  are,  admittedly,  a 
little  dull.  There  was  a  story  that  when  the 
town  council  put  a  notice  at  the  busy  centre — 
"Walk  Round  Comers" — many  of  the  farmers 
made  sure  of  keeping  the  law  by  getting  out  of 
their  vehicles  and  leading  their  horses  round ! 
The  old-time  miner  was  rather  in  the  habit  of 
smashing  the  unoffending  lamp-post  that  barred 
his  straight  progress  to  the  "pub.". where  his  fa- 
vorite brand  of  fire-water  was  on  tap. 

37 


38  "OVER  THERE" 

The  Bendigoans  will  never  forgive  me  for  hav- 
ing failed  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  their  Golden 
City  was  far  ahead  even  of  Melbourne.  They 
would  never  believe  that  any  one  could  make  the 
mistake  in  regard  to  their  city  that  an  American 
did  about  an  Australian  seaport  when  he  mar- 
velled at  our  frankness  in  putting  notice  at  the 
entrance  to  the  harbor  "Dead  Slow,"  and  he  never 
learned,  after  months  of  residence,  that  said  no- 
tice was  really  a  warning  to  shipping. 

But  at  any  rate  the  soldiers  livened  things  up. 
They  were  gathered  from  many  States — their  day 
was  just  "one  damn  thing  after  another" — some- 
times varied  a  bit  with  a  right  turn  instead  of 
left,  and  sometimes  we  would  salute  to  the  right 
instead  of  the  left — but  when  night  came,  fun 
must  be  had  somehow,  and  Bendigo  had  to  sup- 
ply it. 

We  all  had  some  intelligence,  so  after  spending 
a  whole  day  in  employment  that  forbade  oiu* 
using  the  smallest  atom,  we  would  seek  during 
the  night  a  "safety-valve." 

The  camp  was  in  the  show-ground  which  natu- 
rally divided  the  young  animals  in  training  into 
different  sorts — the  eHte  had  the  grand  stand, 
horse-boxes  were  grabbed  by  the  N.  C.  O.'s,  prize- 
cattle  stalls  were  clean  enough,  but  some  line  of 
mental  association  must  have  caused  the  powers 
that  be  to  allot  the  "pig-and-dog"  section  to  the 
military  police  and  their  prey. 


TRAINING-CAMP  LIFE  39 

It  was  fun  on  the  arrival  of  a  fresh  contingent 
who  were  told  "they  could  take  what  accommoda- 
tion was  left  in  the  grand  stand,  the  remainder 
having  to  bunk  in  the  animal  stalls,"  to  see  them 
rush  the  lower  tiers,  appropriating  their  six-foot 
length  by  dumping  their  "blueys"  upon  it,  but 
that  same  night  they  would  be  convinced  of  their 
mistake  as  the  old  hands,  living  above  them,  ex- 
hibited their  joy  at  having  dodged  the  guard, 
returning  in  the  small  hours,  by  walking  on 
every  one  possible  on  their  way  up  top.  Next 
morning  there  would  be  more  applications  for 
"horse-and-cattle"  stalls,  but  the  best  ones  would 
be  gone,  and  they  would  have  to  be  content  to 
lie,  six  in  a  box,  where  a  flooring-board  was  miss- 
ing through  which  the  rats  would  make  their 
nightly  explorations.  But  even  this  was  better 
than  the  lower  tiers  of  the  grand  stand,  as  the  rats 
would  not  always  wake  you  running  across  your 
face,  but  a  husky  in  military  boots  stepping  on 
it  would  rouse  even  the  deadest  in  slumber.  As 
he  would  step  on  about  twenty  others  as  well, 
the  mutual  recriminations  would  continue  for 
hours,  and  as  the  real  culprit  would  settle  down 
in  the  dark  into  his  own  place  without  a  word  no 
one  would  know  who  it  was.  There  would  come 
from  up  above:  "Shut  up,  there!"  "What  the 
h —  are  you  makin'  all  that  row  about  ?"  and  the 
answer:  "So  would  you  make  a  row  if  a  b —  b — 
elephant  stepped  on  your  face!"     "Go  and  bag 


40  "OVER  THERE" 

your  head !  Anyway,  there  are  two  hundred  men 
who  didn't  step  on  your  face  trying  to  go  to 
sleep,  and  it  will  be  reveille  in  an  hour  or  so." 

These  grand-stand  couches  were  bad  places  at 
the  best  of  times.  They  may  have  been  high  and 
dry,  but  were  open  to  every  breeze  that  blew  and 
were  sheltered  only  on  the  side  from  which  the 
rain  never  came.  The  Bendigo  show  committee 
must  have  faced  them  that  way  so  that  the  sun 
and  weather  would  be  right  in  the  eyes  of  the 
onlookers  and  prevent  them  seeing  any  "crook 
riding"  or  "running  dead,"  etc. 

The  first  item  on  the  day's  programme  was  the 
"gargling  parade."  Meningitis  had  broken  out 
in  the  camp  and  every  one  had  to  gargle  his 
throat  first  thing  in  the  morning  with  salt  water. 
We  would  be  marched  under  our  sergeant  to  each 
receive  our  half-pannikin  of  salt  water  at  the 
A.  M.  C.  tent.  We  would  string  out  along  the 
brick  drain  and  then  began  the  most  horrible 
conglomeration  of  soimds  that  ever  offended  the 
ear.  It  was  like  the  tuning  up  of  some  infernal 
orchestra.  I  don't  know  why  it  is,  but  it  is  sur- 
prising how  few  men  can  gargle  "like  a  gentle- 
man." For  days  I  have  not  spoken  to  my  best 
friend,  who  was  most  refined  in  other  respects, 
but  could  not  desist  from  spluttering  and  spray- 
ing the  half  dozen  men  nearest  to  him.  We  be- 
came friends  again,  but  although  we  slept  and 
messed  together,  I  always  took  care  never  to  be 


TRAINING-CAMP  LIFE  41 

nearer  than  number  ten  from  him  at  "garghng 
parade."  I  never  heard  any  complaints  from 
the  people  at  Bendigo  about  this  early-morning 
discord,  but  I  learn  that  no  frogs  have  been  heard 
in  the  neighborhood  since. 

Our  training  at  this  camp  was  purely  prelimi- 
nary— we  certainly  formed  fours  seven  billion 
times,  and  turned  to  the  right  fourteen  bilHon,  and 
saluted  a  post  that  represented  an  officer  so  often, 
that  the  rush  of  air  caused  by  the  quick  move- 
ment of  hands  and  heads  had  worn  the  edge  off  it. 

We  were  so  used  to  the  sound  of  the  sergeant- 
major's  voice  when  he  said,  "The  company  will 
move  to  right  in  fours,"  that,  when  a  grazing 
donkey  happened  to  "hee-haw,"  the  whole  com- 
pany formed  fours.  Even  then  only  about  half 
the  company  discovered  the  mistake — there  was 
mighty  Httle  difference  in  the  tones,  anyway ! 

For  a  man  that  has  never  previously  had  mili- 
tary training,  the  first  few  weeks  in  camp  is  the 
most  himiiliating  and  trying  experience  that  could 
be  inflicted  on  him.  I  am  quite  sirre  that  were 
it  a  prison  and  a  treadmill  he  could  not  hate  it 
the  more. 

Here  was  I,  never  been  under  orders  since  I 
was  breeched,  and  even  before  then  getting  my 
own  way,  suddenly  finding  myself  with  every 
movement  I  was  to  make  laid  down  in  regulations, 
with  about  a  score  of  men  round  me  all  day  to 
see  that  I  carried  them  out  correctly. 


42  "OVER  THERE" 

How  I  used  to  hate  that  camp  band,  when  it 
played  at  reveille,  I  cursed  it  in  full  BLAST  be- 
cause it  would  wake  me  suddenly  when  I  seemed 
to  have  only  just  lain  down,  and  reviled  it  when 
it  played  softly  because  I  would  not  hear  it  and 
some  of  the  other  boys  would  wake  me  only  when 
they  were  fully  dressed;  and  the  last  to  fall  in 
at  roll-call  were  picked  for  cook's  fatigue — peel- 
ing spuds  and  cleaning  dixies !  How  I  loathed 
those  dixies !  The  more  grease  you  got  on  your 
hands  and  clothes  the  more  appeared  to  be  left 
in  the  dixie !  The  outside  was  sooty,  the  inside 
was  greasy,  and  after  I  had  done  my  best,  the 
sergeant  cook  would  make  remarks  about  my 
ancestors  which  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  ques- 
tion, and  I  could  not  resent  them  lest  I  be  detailed 
for  a  whole  week  of  infernal  dixie-cleaning.  Any- 
way, all  his  ancestors  had  ever  dared  to  do  in 
the  presence  of  mine  was  to  touch  their  forelock. 

In  those  first  weeks  I  think  I  would  gladly 
have  murdered  every  sergeant.  It  was  "Num- 
ber lo,  hold  yoin-  head  up!"  "Put  your  heels 
together!"  or  a  sarcastic  remark  as  to  whether 
I  knew  what  a  button  was  for,  when  I  happened 
to  miss  doing  one  up  in  my  flurry  to  dress  in 
time,  so  that  I  would  not  be  at  the  bottom  of 
the  line  and  picked  for  fatigue. 

It  is  not  often  reaHzed  what  a  purgatory  the 
educated,  independent  man  who  enlists  as  a  pri- 
vate has  to  go  through  before  his  spirit  is  tamed 


TRAINING-CAMP  LIFE  43 

sufficiently  to  stand  bossing,  without  resentment, 
by  men  socially  and  educationally  inferior.  There 
was  a  young  officer  who  called  me  over  one  day 
and  told  me  to  clean  his  boots.  I  answered, 
"Clean  them  yotuself !"  and  got  three  days  C.  C. 
(confinement  to  camp).  This  same  officer  took 
advantage  of  his  rank  on  several  other  occasions 
and  sought  to  humiliate  me.  He  was  a  poor  sort 
of  a  sport,  and  many  months  later  when  I  was  his 
equal  in  rank  in  France  I  punched  his  head,  tell- 
ing him  I  had  waited  eighteen  months  to  do 
it.  So  you  see,  everything  comes  to  those  who 
wait. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  only  three  weeks 
before  I  was  made  an  acting  sergeant,  but  I  have 
great  sympathy  with  the  soft-handed  rookie,  for 
in  those  three  weeks  it  seemed  to  me  that  it  was 
an  easy  thing  to  die  for  one's  country,  but  to  train 
to  be  a  soldier  was  about  the  worst  kind  of  penal 
servitude  a  man  coidd  undergo. 

When  acting  as  sergeant  I  was  boss  of  five  sta- 
bles, each  containing  eight  men,  who  could  only 
squeeze  in  the  floor  space  by  sleeping  head  to 
feet.  These  stables  were  only  completely  closed 
in  on  three  sides,  the  entrance  side  being  boarded 
up  three  feet  high,  except  for  the  space  of  the 
doorway.  There  was  no  attempt  to  close  up 
this  opening,  except  after  afternoon  parade,  when 
visitors  would  have  arrived  before  our  changing 
into   reception-clothes   was    completed,    and   we 


»» 


44  "OVER  THERE 

would  partially  block  it  with  our  waterproof 
sheeting. 

I  must  mention  that  in  the  early  days  we  had 
no  real  uniforms,  but  used  to  parade  in  blue 
dungarees  and  white  cloth  hats.  They  certainly 
made  the  men  look  "uniform,''  but  "uniformly 
hideous,''  and  none  of  us  would  be  seen  in  them 
by  a  pretty  girl,  for  a  king's  ransom.  As  soon  as 
afternoon  parade  was  dismissed,  we  would  dive 
for  our  quarters,  and  re-don  our  "civvies"  until 
next  parade.  The  "cocky"  would  be  resplen- 
dent again  in  his  soft  collar  and  red  tie,  and  the 
city  clerk  in  starched  collar  and  cuffs. 

Sometimes,  however,  there  was  a  variation  in 
time  between  the  watches  of  the  sergeant-major 
on  the  parade-ground  and  the  guard  at  the  gate. 
Visitors  would  be  let  in  too  soon,  and  innocently 
curious  dames  would  wonder  what  these  rows  of 
stables  were  for,  and  wandering  in  that  direction, 
would  suddenly  beat  a  blushing  retreat  at  the 
revelation  of  hundreds  of  young  men  getting  into 
respectable  clothes  who  had  no  other  place  in 
which  to  change.  Even  if  you  did  put  a  blanket 
or  W.  P.  sheet  over  the  entrance,  there  were  no 
tacks,  or  nails,  and  it  always  fell  down  at  the 
most  awkward  moments.  However,  the  visitors 
soon  got  wise,  and  in  about  half  an  hour  the  boys 
who  had  callers  would  be  proudly  showing  their 
friends,  by  the  name  above  the  feed-box,  that 
the  previous  occupant  of  their  quarters  was  the 


TRAINING-CAMP  LIFE  45 

famous  "Highflyer,"  winner  of  scores  of  cups, 
etc. 

There  were  a  good  lot  of  us  there  from  other 
states,  and  we  had  no  special  callers,  but  there 
were  always  girls  who  came  out  to  see  a  Sergeant 
Martin  or  some  such  name  not  on  the  rolls. 
"Couldn't  we  find  him  for  you?"  If  we  did 
happen  to  find  a  sergeant  of  that  name,  he  would 
not  happen  to  be  the  one  she  wanted,  then  we 
would  offer  to  do  the  honors  of  the  camp,  and 
as  she  would  not  like  the  hamper  brought  for 
her  friend  to  be  wasted,  an  acquaintance  was 
soon  struck  up.  Some  boys  were  too  shy,  but 
nearly  all  of  us  had  visitors  after  we  had  been  in 
camp  a  week  or  two. 

The  town  had  appointed  a  soldiers'  entertain- 
ment committee,  and  they  gave  us  a  concert  every 
night  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  tent.  These  were  high- 
class  shows,  but  most  of  us  preferred  to  go  into 
the  town  though  we  only  had  leave  till  six 
o'clock. 

Some  of  us  used  to  stay  in  town  till  midnight, 
trusting  to  our  ingenuity  in  bluffing  the  guard. 
Many  were  the  dodges  used  to  gain  entrance 
to  the  camp.  Some  townsboys  could  get  passes 
till  midnight  about  once  a  week,  and  instead  of 
handing  these  to  the  guard,  as  they  hurried  past, 
they  would  substitute  a  piece  of  blank  paper.  If 
they  got  past  it  was  good  for  another  occasion, 
as  the  date  was  easily  altered.    If  they  were 


46  "OVER  THERE" 

pulled  up  they  would  apologize  profusely  and 
hand  up  the  right  pass.  Sometimes  we  would 
wait  until  there  were  a  score  of  us,  and  while  the 
sentry  was  examining  the  first  pass  the  others 
would  rush  the  gate.  Rarely  could  more  than 
one  or  two  be  identified,  and  the  odds  were  in 
our  favor. 

Soon  the  guard  was  doubled,  and  only  a  small 
wicket  was  opened,  where  but  one  man  could 
pass  through  at  a  time.  Then  we  scraped  holes 
imder  the  galvanized-iron  fence  that  surrotmded 
the  show-ground,  concealing  them  carefully  with 
bushes  and  watching  out  for  the  pickets  who  pa- 
trolled the  outside  of  the  camp. 

I  think  I  got  my  best  training  in  scouting 
dodging  these  pickets.  I  have  climbed  trees, 
crawled  into  hollow  logs,  and  played  'possum  in 
gullies  to  escape  them.  Being  caught  meant  not 
only  several  days  in  the  guard-tent,  but  the  loss 
of  the  chance  of  "stripes." 

There  was  really  not  much  excitement  in  the 
town  and  many  of  us  just  stayed  late  for  the 
excitement  of  breaking  the  law  without  being 
caught.  It  was  the  outbreak  of  our  personality 
after  being  mere  cogs  in  a  drill-machine  all  day. 
I  never  was  guilty  of  returning  except  after  hotus, 
and  I  never  was  caught,  even  when  extraordinary 
precautions  were  taken  to  get  the  delinquents. 
Sometimes  a  check-roll  would  be  called,  at  some 
uncertain  hour,  but  it  was  always  a  point  of  honor 


TRAINING-CAMP  LIFE  47 

for  the  boys  in  camp  to  answer  "present"  for  any- 
absent  mates. 

Evidently  I  was  destined  to  be  a  scout.  From 
this  camp  I  was  drafted  into  the  intelligence  sec- 
tion for  specialized  training.  That  has  been  my 
work  all  the  time  overseas,  and  I  never  had 
harder  work  dodging  Fritz's  sentries  than  those 
pickets  round  Bendigo  show-ground. 


CHAPTER  V 
CONCENTRATED  FOR  EMBARKATION 

One  morning  there  was  great  excitement  in  the 
Bendigo  camp.  An  announcement  was  made 
that  members  of  rifle-clubs  would  be  tried  out  on 
the  range  and  all  qualifying  with  ninety  per  cent 
of  marks  would  be  sent  overseas  in  the  earliest 
draft.  All  who  had  ever  fired  a  gun,  and  some 
who  hadn't,  stepped  forward  for  trial,  but  on  the 
range  the  eligibles  were  found  to  be  only  fifty,  of 
whom  I  was  lucky  enough  to  be  one. 

The  next  day  we  lined  up  for  a  final  medical 
inspection.  As  we  passed  the  doctor  there  were 
none  to  congratulate  us,  but  we  made  allowances, 
knowing  how  sore  the  others  were  who  had  failed 
to  qualify.  We  packed  up  our  kits  and  marched 
to  the  train  leaving  a  camp  literally  "green  with 
envy. ' '  We  shouted  good-bye,  amazed  at  the  good 
f  ortime  that  had  chosen  us  to  escape  many  months 
of  deadly  grind  in  the  training-camp,  and  it  seemed 
as  we  passed  in  single  file  through  the  old  show- 
ground turnstile  as  if  already  we  had  left  iVustralia 
behind,  and  in  imagination  our  feet  felt  the  roll 
of  the  ship  that  in  our  fancy  was  even  now  carry- 
ing us  out  on  the  "Great  Adventure";  and  our 
thoughts  wafted  farewells  to  mother  or  wife,  as 

48 


EMBARKATION  49 

we  bade  them  never  fear  but  that  we  would 
show  that  their  men  were  not  imworthy  of  their 
regard. 

Our  spirits  had  not  been  so  elated  had  we 
known  that  more  weeks  of  camp  life  in  Australia 
yet  awaited  us.  Had  we  not  thought  that  we 
were  destined  for  immediate  embarkation  we 
might  have  been  better  disposed  to  appreciate 
Broadmeadows,  but  as  it  was  it  seemed  to  us 
about  the  last  place  made — and  not  yet  finished. 

As  the  days  passed,  our  detestation  of  the  place 
grew,  but  we  soon  found  that  oiu-  impatience  of  de- 
lay in  embarking  was  shared  by  several  thousand 
others  who  had  gathered  there  from  many  States 
and  been  weeks  trampling  out  the  grass  and  rais- 
ing the  dust  in  those  accursed  fields  till  it  choked 
them,  when  they  had  long  before  expected  to  be 
inhaling  the  ozone  from  the  deck  of  some  good 
ship  that  with  every  knot  bore  them  nearer  to 
the  strife  for  hberty  and  a  man's  chance. 

This  camp  was  always  seething  with  discon- 
tent, for  with  the  delay  was  in  every  man's  heart 
the  haunting  fear  that  the  war  might  be  over 
ere  he  got  there,  and  none  could  think  without 
dread  of  the  possibility  that  we  might  have  to 
endiu-e  the  lowest  depths  of  humiliation  in  return- 
ing home  without  having  struck  a  blow. 

On  one  occasion  the  impatience  that  was  like 
a  festering  sore  among  the  men  of  this  camp 
nearly  resulted  in  a  show  of  mutiny.     Oil  was 


50  "OVER  THERE  ♦» 

added  to  the  flame  of  our  discontent  by  the  tact- 
lessness of  the  camp  adjutant.  He  will  always  be 
known  to  the  men  of  those  days  as  the  "Puppy." 
His  father  was  a  commanding  officer,  and  though 
he  was  only  nineteen  years  of  age  and  his  voice  was 
just  breaking,  he  rode  the  "highhorse  of  authority" 
over  those  men  as  though  they  were  schoolchildren. 
When  his  lady  friends  came  to  visit  him  he  would 
order  a  special  parade  so  that  they  might  see  him 
in  command  of  "his  men,  doncherknow ! "  But 
his  "high  horse"  nearly  threw  him  one  day  when 
he  gave  the  order,  "Move  to  the  right  and  fours, 
form  fours!"  and  not  a  man  moved.  Blushing 
like  a  schoolgirl,  he  called  the  officers  out  for  con- 
sultation and  sent  for  the  commandant.  When, 
however,  real  men  took  command  there  was  no 
further  trouble,  though  the  boys  openly  voiced 
their  complaints — "that  their  leave  was  restricted 
for  no  reason" — "that  they  were  on  parade  after 
hours,"  and  "Why  don't  they  send  us  away  to 
fight,  anyway?  That's  what  we  enlisted  for." 
The  announcement  that  we  would  be  sailing  soon 
brought  forth  cheers  and  every  one  was  in  good 
humor  again.  Only  let  us  be  sure  that  we  were  off 
to  war,  and  we  could  stand  even  the  Puppy's 
yelping. 

But  all  the  same,  there  were  a  couple  more 
weeks  of  the  mud  and  dust  to  be  endured.  I  have 
been  in  sand-storms  in  the  interior  of  Australia 
when  the  sun  was  blotted  out  and  in  Egypt  when 


EMBARKATION  51 

the  Kam-seen  said  to  the  mountain,  "Be  thou 
removed  !"  and  it  was  removed  in  a  single  night 
some  fifty  miles  away,  but  neither  of  these  is 
worse  than  some  of  the  dust-storms  that  blow  over 
Melbourne,  and  at  Broadmeadows  we  got  their 
full  force.  We  would  march  in  from  the  parade- 
ground  not  being  able  to  see  the  man  in  front  of 
us,  and  in  the  light  of  the  candles  in  our  tents  our 
very  features  were  blotted  out  and  nothing  but 
eyes  and  teeth  were  visible,  except  that,  perhaps, 
in  some  faces  two  small  holes  would  suggest 
where  the  nose  might  be.  It  was  only  after  a 
good  deal  of  shaking  that  the  place  could  be  dis- 
cerned where  neck  emerged  from  collar.  There 
were  some  serious  accidents  in  these  dust-storms 
through  men  trying  to  bump  buildings  out  of 
their  way,  and  on  one  occasion  two  poor  fellows 
were  nearly  killed  in  failing  to  give  the  "right- 
away"  to  a  couple  of  sheets  of  galvanized  iron. 
And  when  it  rained,  great  snakes!  Where  was 
there  ever  mud  like  that !  We  certainly  did  a 
good  deal  in  mixing  the  soil  of  those  paddocks, 
for  we  would  carry  an  acre  of  it  from  around  the 
tents  onto  the  drill-ground,  where  we  would  care- 
fully scrape  it  off,  and  when  we  marched  back  we 
would  bring  another  acre  on  our  boots  to  form  a 
hillock  at  our  tent  door.  If  there  had  been  but 
an  inch  of  rain  we  would  lift  up  on  the  soles  of  our 
boots  all  the  wet  earth,  uncovering  a  surface  of 
dust  to  pepper  our  evening  meal. 


52  "OVER  THERE" 

Large  sums  of  money  have  been  spent  on  this 
camp  since  those  days  and  it  is  now  a  nursery  for 
the  recruits  who  have  volunteered  three  years 
late  and  need  the  enticement  of  feather  beds  to 
induce  them  to  leave  mother.  It  has  been  thor- 
oughly drained  and  terraced,  and  comfortable 
huts  have  been  erected,  but  we  simply  rolled  in 
blankets  on  bare  Mother  Earth  and  sheltered 
from  sun  and  rain  in  tents  that  were  supposed  to 
be  water-proof,  and  generally  were  unless  you 
happened  to  touch  them  when  wet.  If  you  did 
accidentally  happen  to  rub  against  the  sides,  there 
would  be  a  stream  of  water  pouring  down  on  you 
all  night.  There  was  no  escaping  this,  for  there 
was  not  an  inch  of  ground  inside  the  tent  that  was 
not  covered  by  man.  In  fact,  with  ten  in  a  tent, 
one  of  us  had  to  lie  three-quarters  outside,  any- 
way, which  was  the  chief  reason  why  I  was  never 
last  in.  Dressing  was  a  problem,  for  every  one 
must  needs  dress  at  the  same  time,  and  from  the 
outside  the  tent  must  have  looked  something  like 
a  camel  whose  hump  was  constantly  slipping. 
Perhaps  that  is  why  every  one  used  safety-razors 
after  a  while,  for  although  our  faces  would  fre- 
quently look  as  though  they  had  been  mixed  up  in 
barbed  wire,  there  was  really  not  much  danger  of 
cutting  one's  throat,  for  even  though  you  received 
a  forty-horse-power  jolt  at  a  critical  moment, 
the  razor-guard  prevented  your  life  being  actually 
imperilled. 


EMBARKATION  53 

In  this  camp  we  received  our  uniforms  and 
equipment,  but  it  was  only  after  a  lot  of  exchang- 
ing had  been  done  that  our  uniforms  made  us  look 
soldierly.  Oh,  Lord  !  what  caricatures  many  of 
us  were  after  the  first  issue.  There  were  prac- 
tically no  out-sizes  in  tiniics,  but  plenty  of  the 
men  were  not  merely  out-size,  but  odd-sized. 
Some  little  fellows  looked  as  if  they  were  wear- 
ing father's  coat,  and  there  were  others  who 
looked  as  if  they  were  wearing  that  of  baby 
brother.  Some  had  to  turn  back  the  cuffs  two 
or  three  times,  while  others  had  at  least  a  foot  of 
wrist  and  forearm  showing.  But  the  breeches! 
Oh,  my  Aunt  Sarah !  Some  were  able  to  tuck 
the  bottoms  into  their  boots,  while  others  had  to 
wind  puttees  above  their  knees.  There  were 
men  who  couldn't  bend  comfortably,  while  others 
had  room  to  carry  a  couch  about  with  them. 
However,  the  orders  were  that  we  were  to  keep 
on  exchanging  until  we  got  something  like  a  fit, 
but  as  there  were  varieties  in  the  quality  of  the 
cloth,  there  were  those  who  preferred  a  misfit  to 
poor  material,  so  that  there  were  always  a  num- 
ber who  looked  like  Charlie  Chaplin. 

New  arrivals  in  camp  were  always  called  "Mar- 
malades," because  they  were  distinguished  by 
their  relish  for  marmalade  jam.  After  they  had 
consumed  over  a  ton  of  it  and  forgotten  the  taste 
of  any  other  kind  of  jam  then  they  looked  at  a 
tin  of  it  with  loathing,  when  they  would  be  con- 


54  "OVER  THERE" 

sidered  to  have  passed  the  "recruit"  stage  and 
be  on  a  fair  way  to  becoming  soldiers. 

Long  before  we  got  our  imif orms  we  were  issued 
greatcoats,  hats,  and  boots.  At  this  time  the 
only  other  clothes  we  had  were  the  blue  dungarees 
and  white  cloth  hats  called  "fatigue  dress."  No 
self-respecting  man  would  allow  a  lady  friend  to 
see  him  in  this  rig-out.  Yet  one  must  breathe  the 
free  air  of  liberty  some  time,  and  "confinement  to 
camp"  was  a  punishment  for  crime.  So  we  com- 
promised by  strolling  the  city  streets  with  our 
military  hats  and  boots,  with  the  army  great- 
coats seeking  to  hide  the  blue  hideousness  of  our 
dungarees.  Some  of  us  sought  to  be  unconscious 
of  the  foot  or  two  of  blue  cloth  showing  beneath 
the  greatcoat,  and  these  were  times  when  we  en- 
vied the  little  chap  enveloped  in  a  greatcoat  that 
hung  down  as  low  as  his  boots.  We  received  at 
this  time  the  nickname  "Keystone  soldiers," 
some  genial  ass  conceiving  that  we  looked  as  funny 
as  the  Keystone  police.  These  greatcoats  were 
a  bit  out  of  place  on  a  day  that  was  over  a  hundred 
in  the  shade,  and  they  did  not  look  exactly  the 
thing  at  a  dainty  tea-table  in  a  swell  cafe,  but  we 
clung  to  those  greatcoats  as  our  only  salvation, 
for  they  did  hide  the  blue  horror  beneath.  I 
should  have  explained  that  our  civiHan  clothes 
had  been  taken  from  us,  and  we  were  forbidden, 
under  severe  penalty,  to  wear  any  but  regulation 
dress.     Nevertheless,  the  lucky  dogs  who  had  rel- 


EMBARKATION  55 

atives  near  by  would  take  the  risk  and  borrow  a 
cousin's  rig-out,  but  we  hated  them  as  mean  dogs, 
feeling  they  were  taking  an  unfair  advantage; 
and,  if  we  got  a  chance,  we  would,  by  innuendo, 
hint  to  the  lady  in  the  case  that  these  fellows  did 
so  much  dixie-cleaning  that  their  dungarees  were 
too  stiff  to  wear  ! 

Nearing  the  close  of  a  long,  sunny  Australian 
day — the  air  soft,  warm,  and  sweet,  and  the  sky 
suffused  with  a  lovely  pink.  It  was  visiting-day — 
Friday.  In  the  camp,  rows  of  figures  in  blue 
dungarees  and  white  hats  were  marching  round 
and  round  the  drill-ground,  turning  from  left  to 
right,  forming  fours,  then  back  to  two  deep,  and 
so  on  and  so  on.  Out  across  the  flat  ground  be- 
tween the  camp  and  the  railway-station,  coming 
steadily  toward  the  camp,  was  a  very  straggly 
line  of  white  figures.  As  they  came  closer,  one 
saw  they  were  women  and  girls,  fresh  and  dainty 
in  summer  frocks  and  hats,  all  carrying  big  baskets, 
suitcases,  and  all  manner  of  strange  and  weirdly 
shaped  parcels.  A  few  odd  males  among  them, 
mostly  nearing  sixty,  or  tmder  ten.  Some  were 
portly,  puffing  a  Httle,  some  old,  their  heavy  par- 
cels making  their  lips  quiver  and  their  step  slow — 
and  girls,  just  multitudes  of  them,  all  sizes,  ages, 
and  shapes — blondes,  brunettes,  in-betweens,  and 
from  every  rank  in  the  social  scale — mostly  in 
groups  of  any  number  from  two  to  twenty — some 
chaperoned,  some  not.     Here  and  there  one  saw 


56  "OVER  THERE" 

one  alone  carrying  an  extra  heavy  suitcase,  which 
somehow  you  knew  contained  extra-specially 
good  things  to  eat,  and  when  you  looked  at  her 
face  under  her  big  hat  a  certain  something  there 
told  you  that  on  the  third  finger  of  the  left  hand 
under  her  glove  you  would  surely  find  a  diamond 
half-loop,  and  even,  perhaps,  a  very  plain  new  gold 
band ! 

From  the  drill-ground  the  soldiers  could  see 
this  crowd  of  womenfolk  steadily  coming  toward 
them,  and  grew  acutely  aware  of  their  shapeless, 
grubby  dungarees,  dusty  boots,  and  perspiring 
faces  under  tired-looking  white  hats.  Agonized 
glances  were  turned  on  the  sergeant-major  as, 
with  his  face  utterly  expressionless,  ignoring  the 
oncoming  feminine  figures,  he  still  right-about- 
turned  and  quick-marched  them.  The  fluttering 
white  frocks  came  closer  and  closer,  and  as  they 
began  to  get  near  the  gate  imploring  glances  were 
turned  in  the  direction  of  the  guard,  praying  they 
would  not  let  any  one  in.  Then  suddenly,  to 
their  immense  relief,  they  were  dismissed;  then 
it  was  just  one  mad  rush  for  tents.  Swearing 
breathlessly  as  they  bumped  into  each  other  or 
tripped  over  tent-pegs  and  ropes,  they  ran,  putting 
on  an  extra  spurt  every  time  they  glanced  over 
their  shoulders  and  saw  the  women  advancing 
upon  them  in  mass  formation.  Changing  was 
soon  accomplished,  not  without  a  good  deal  of 
confusion,  mixing  up  of  garments,  and  splashing 


s 

o 
K 

bo 
C 

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►J 


o 
a 
CO 


o 

X 
C 

O 


EMBARKATION  57 

water  around,  but  when  they  were  finally  all 
dressed  and  again  in  khaki  uniforms  smiles  of 
satisfaction  spread  over  clean  and  shiny  faces 
as  they  glanced  down  at  neat  uniforms  and  well- 
polished  boots — Smoke-o  that  day  had  seen  much 
activity  in  the  business  of  brushing  and  pol- 
ishing. 

Down  at  the  gate  the  picket  was  having  a  busy 
time  answering  questions:  "Could  you  tell  me 
where  I  will  find  Private  Mcintosh?"  "What 
tent  is  my  brother  in,  d'yo^  know?"  But  as 
many  of  the  eager  questioners  were,  well,  very 
delightful,  none  of  the  boys  on  picket  duty  kicked 
at  their  job.  Some  of  the  boys  who  were  quicker 
dressers  than  the  others  now  began  to  come  down 
to  the  gate,  bustling  into  the  crowd  of  womenfolk, 
looking  eagerly  for  their  own  particular  visitors, 
and,  seeing  them,  dashing  up,  hugging  mothers 
and  sisters,  shaking  bashfully  the  hand  of  "sister's 
friend,"  gathering  up  all  their  parcels,  and,  with 
them  all  following  close  behind,  leading  the  way 
to  "a  dandy  spot"  for  supper.  In  course  of  time 
the  sorting-out  process  was  complete,  and  the 
camp  was  dotted  with  hundreds  of  groups,  large 
and  small,  all  laughing  and  talking,  and  busy 
unpacking  those  very  weighty  parcels.  Boys  who 
had  changed  into  uniform  with  the  others  and  gone 
down  to  the  gate,  though  not  really  expecting  any 
one  as  they  were  from  out  back  and  had  no  city 
friends,  but  still  feeling  lonesome,  and,  perhaps, 


58  "OVER  THERE" 

having  a  forlorn  hope  that  there  might  be  some  one, 
had  helped  rather  bewildered  girls,  carrying  their 
baskets  and  finding  the  man  they  wanted — these 
boys  now  looked  longingly  around  at  these  groups, 
hoping  some  one  would  invite  them  to  join  in ;  and 
how  their  faces  brightened  when  one  of  their  tent- 
mates,  looking  up  from  a  hunk  of  frosted  cake, 
would  see  them  and  shout,  "Hey,  Bill!  Here!" 
and,  after  the  agony  of  being  presented  to  "My 
mater,  my  sister,  and  Miss  Stephenson,"  things 
were  just  O.  K. 

Yet  there  were  a  good  many  lonely  ones,  boys 
who  hadn't  even  bothered  to  change,  still  in  their 
ill-shaped  blue  dungarees,  dusty  boots,  and  cloth 
hats,  some  of  them  walking  round,  their  heads 
down,  and  kicking  at  every  clump  of  grass  or 
stone  that  came  within  reach  of  their  boots — 
some  of  them,  too  lonely  even  to  look  at  the  fim, 
hanging  over  the  fences,  occasionally  exchanging 
a  few  peevish  words  with  each  other,  while 
others  gathered  round  the  old  man  who  kept  a 
stall  just  inside  the  gate  and  bought  lemonade, 
ginger  ale,  and  arrowroot  biscuits,  consuming  them 
with  much  assumed  gusto,  while  others  still  sat 
inside  their  tents  or  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  hut. 

Looking  at  these  boys  gave  one  a  deep  heart- 
ache, but  the  sob  in  one's  throat  changed  suddenly 
to  a  laugh  as  one  looked  at  their  hats.  Americans 
in  Australia  have  always  held  the  prize  for  origi- 
nality in  headgear,  but  that  same  prize  must  now 


EMBARKATION  59 

be  handed  over  to  our  soldiers  in  camp.  What 
they  can  do  with  one  simple,  unoffending,  white- 
cloth  cricket-hat  passes  all  belief.  Seldom,  as 
is  the  case  with  their  dungarees,  did  these  boys 
have  a  hat  that  really  fitted  them,  those  with  big 
heads  had  the  smallest  hats,  and  those  with  extra 
small  heads  got  the  largest  size.  They  were  all 
shades,  from  their  original  pure  white  down,  or  up, 
to  an  exact  match  with  Mother  Earth.  And  the 
shapes  !  Some  wore  them  turned  down  all  roimd, 
some  turned  up  all  round,  some  turned  up  in 
front  and  down  at  the  back,  some  vice  versa,  some 
turned  up  on  the  left  side  and  down  at  the  right, 
and  some  down  at  the  left  and  up  at  the  right; 
some  had  tucked  the  front  part  in,  leaving  a  large 
expanse  of  bare  brow,  while  the  back  part,  turned 
down,  shaded  the  nape  of  their  neck.  Some  ap- 
plied this  idea  reversed,  turning  in  the  back ;  some 
turned  the  brim  right  in  except  for  a  small  peak 
k  la  jockey;  some  had  a  peak  back  and  front, 
made  by  rolling  in  both  sides,  and  some  settled 
the  question  by  turning  the  whole  brim  in,  the 
resultant  skull-cap  effect  being  such  as  to  bring 
tears  to  the  eyes  of  all  beholders. 

These  disconsolate,  lonely  faces,  with,  in  the 
cases  of  the  younger  boys,  tear-filled  eyes,  sur- 
mounted by  these  absurd,  preposterous  hats — 
it  was  truly  a  case  of  not  knowing  whether  to 
laugh  or  to  cry;  so  by  laughing  hard,  the  women 
who  saw  them  hid  their  tears. 


6o  "OVER  THERE" 

It  soon  began  to  get  dark — in  Australia  our  twi- 
light is  short — so  suitcases  and  baskets  were  re- 
packed, but  only  this  time  with  plates,  cups, 
spoons,  etc. — and  one  by  one  the  parties  rose  and 
went  over  to  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  tent  for  the  concert. 
In  the  tent  tables  had  all  been  moved  out  and 
rows  of  chairs  and  forms  filled  it.  In  a  short  time 
they  were  all  occupied,  the  officers  sitting  in  front, 
some  with  visitors,  others  alone  and  casting  very 
longing  eyes  at  the  lovely  girls  coming  in  with 
the  men. 

The  concert  was  given,  as  they  mostly  were,  by 
an  amateur  club,  and  had  its  ups  and  downs. 
But  every  one  enjoyed  it — the  items  that  took  the 
popular  fancy  were  loudly  applauded,  and  the 
others  that  weren't  so  good — well,  no  one  minded, 
as  every  one  was  happy,  and  the  lights  were  very 
dim ! 

By  the  end  of  the  concert  it  was  nine  o'clock, 
the  time  for  all  visitors  to  be  shooed  off  home. 
The  bugles  blew  "The  First  Post,"  and  every 
one,  very  imwilling,  made  their  way  slowly  down 
to  the  gate.  Here  good-byes  were  said,  meetings 
arranged  for  the  boys'  next  leave,  promises  made 
to  come  out  next  week,  with  much  chattering  and 
laughing,  though  here  and  there,  back  in  the 
shadows,  would  be  couples,  very  quiet,  maybe 
engaged,  perhaps  just  married,  hating  to  separate. 

At  last  the  remaining  white  frocks  flutter 
through  the  big  gate  and  join  in  the  stream  al- 


EMBARKATION  6l 

ready  straggling  across  country  toward  the  rail- 
way-station, every  one  quiet  and  very  tired. 

In  camp  the  boys  stroll  over  to  their  tents, 
exchanging  an  occasional  word  with  pals,  but  for 
the  most  part  silent,  and  turn  in,  tired  also,  and 
a  little  thoughtful.  In  an  hour  all  the  stars  shine 
brightly  from  the  velvety,  blue-black  sky,  the  soft- 
scented  air  wafts  in  through  open  tent-flaps, 
lights  are  out,  and  all  is  quiet  in  the  camp,  except 
for  the  periodical  changing  of  pickets  and  the  occa- 
sonal  roar  of  a  passing  train  in  the  distance. 


CHAPTER  VI 
MANY  WEEKS  AT  SEA 

A  TROOP-SHIP  has  no  longer  a  name,  but  al- 
though the  ship  we  boarded  at  Port  Melbourne 
docks  was  designated  by  the  number  A  14,  it  was 
not  hard  to  discover  that  we  were  on  a  well- 
known  ocean-liner,  for  on  life-buoys  and  wheel- 
house  the  paint  was  not  so  thick  that  inquisitive- 
ness  could  not  see  the  name  that  in  pre-war  days 
the  Aberdeen  line  proudly  advertised  as  one  of 
their  most  comfortable  passenger-carrying  ships. 
That  meant  little  to  us,  for  her  trimmings  of  com- 
fort had  been  stripped  off  but  for  a  few  cabins  left 
for  the  officers,  and  when  we  were  mustered  in  our 
quarters,  we  wondered  where  we  would  sleep, 
for  no  bunks  met  our  eye. 

Embarkation  is  for  every  one  concerned  the 
most  tedious,  red-tapeyist  incident  in  a  soldier's 
career.  For  fear  of  spies  the  exact  day  had  been 
kept  secret,  and  although  we  had  expected  to 
leave  weeks  previously,  and  had,  at  least,  twenty 
times  said  our  tearful  farewells,  when  the  actual 
day  arrived  there  was  no  expectation  of  it  and  no 
farewells.  The  night  previously  men  had  said  to 
their  wives,  "See  you  to-morrow,  dear!" — meet- 
ings were  arranged  with  best  girls,  for  the  movies — 

62 


MANY  WEEKS  AT  SEA  63 

in  fact,  not  the  faintest  nimor  had  spread  through 
the  camp  that  there  was  any  likelihood  of  our  sail- 
ing for  weeks,  and  here  in  the  early  dawn  we  were 
lined  up  on  the  wharf,  being  counted  off  like 
sheep,  and  allotted  our  quarter  cubic  foot  of 
ship's  space;  preparing  for  our  adventtire  over- 
seas without  the  slightest  chance  of  letting  any  one 
know  what  had  happened  to  us.  We  could  sym- 
pathize with  the  feelings  of  our  folks  as  they  would 
journey  out  to  camp  with  the  usual  good  things 
to  eat  only  to  find  we  had  gone.  By  this  time 
we  would  be  well  out  at  sea,  en  route  for  the  Great 
Adventure,  but  it  was  hard  luck  for  mothers  and 
wives  suddenly  to  find  us  gone  without  warning, 
and  having  to  wait  many  weeks  for  the  first 
letter. 

It  was  wet,  it  was  cold,  it  was  dark  on  that 
wharf.  If  we  were  counted  once,  we  were  counted 
fifty  times,  and  for  hours  we  stood  in  the  rain  be- 
cause there  were  two  men  too  many.  No,  not 
men,  for  they  were  found  to  be  boys  of  fifteen  who 
had  stolen  uniforms  and  had  hidden  near  the  wharf 
for  days  to  get  away  with  the  troops,  but  they 
were  discovered,  as  every  man  had  his  name 
called  and  was  identified  by  his  officer  as  he  passed 
up  the  gangway.  One  of  them  was  not  to  be  kept 
off,  however:  he  slipped  round  the  stem  and 
climbed  up  the  mooring  cables  like  a  monkey, 
and  as  no  one  gave  him  away  he  was  tmdiscovered 
until  rations  were  issued,  so,  perforce,  he  was  a 


64  "OVER  THERE" 

member  of  the  ship's  company  and  went  with  us 
to  Egypt. 

It's  marvellous  what  quantities  of  men  a  troop- 
ship can  swallow.  There  were  a  thousand  men 
on  our  ship  and  we  wondered  how  we  would  possi- 
bly move  about,  for  we  were  marched  'tween  decks, 
and  seated  on  benches  ranged  alongside  deal 
tables,  and  when  all  were  aboard  there  was  not 
room  for  a  man  more.  It  was  explained  to  us 
that  these  were  our  quarters.  We  could  tuider- 
stand  them  as  eating  quarters,  but  where  were  we 
to  sleep  ?  It  was  soon  evident ;  above  our  heads 
were  rows  of  black  iron  hooks;  these  were  for 
our  hammocks,  which,  with  a  blanket  apiece, 
were  in  bins  at  the  end  of  each  deck.  Hammock 
sleeping  was  not  new  to  me,  so  I  got  a  good  deal  of 
fim  seeing  the  early-to-bedders  climb  in  one  side 
of  their  hammock,  only  to  fall  out  the  other,  and 
very  few  could  manipulate  their  blankets.  One 
could  see  that  nearly  every  one  was  nervous  for 
fear  of  turning  over  in  his  sleep,  but  there  was 
really  no  danger  of  falling  out,  for  when  all  the 
hammocks  were  up  they  were  packed  so  closely 
that  if  you  did  roll  over,  you  would  only  roll  into 
the  next  hammock  on  top  of  some  fellow  who 
would,  no  doubt,  think  the  mast  had  fallen. 
There  were  a  good  number  of  men  to  whom  life 
would  have  been  much  pleasanter  the  next  few 
days  if  they  could  have  stayed  in  their  hammocks 
all  day,  as,  no  matter  how  the  ship  rolls,  a  ham- 


MANY  WEEKS  AT  SEA  65 

mock,  being  swung,  always  keeps  level.  Un- 
fortunately, all  hammocks  had  to  be  taken  down 
at  6  A.  M.  so  we  could  sit  at  the  tables  for  break- 
fast, and  to  most  of  the  boys  that  first  morning 
getting  out  of  their  hammocks  was  like  stepping 
onto  a  razzle-dazzle.  We  were  now  well  at  sea 
and  the  general  cry  was  in  the  words  of  the  song : 
"Sea,  sea,  why  are  you  angry  with  me?"  Dis- 
cipline had  to  be  relaxed  those  first  days,  for  a 
seasick  man  is  quite  willing  to  be  shot  and  has 
no  interest  in  the  war,  and  doesn't  care  which 
horse  wins  the  boat-race.  Seasickness  never  gets 
any  sympathy  from  those  who  are  immune,  but 
sometimes  just  retribution  comes  on  the  scoffer, 
and  it  is  some  satisfaction  to  see  a  man's  face 
turn  green  who  but  a  few  hours  ago  had  been 
whistling  with  a  selfish  cheerfulness  while  you  were 
revealing  your  own  sticky  past  to  the  mermaids. 
After  about  a  week  parades  were  announced, 
and  in  the  early  morning  we  were  lined  up  for 
"physical  jerks,"  by  which  is  meant  calisthenics, 
or  setting-up  exercises.  We  now  realized  the 
appropriateness  of  the  nickname,  for  the  first 
stretching  would  cause  a  number  to  rush  to  the 
side,  where  they  would  attempt  to  jerk  then- 
hearts  out,  and  also,  standing  on  tiptoe  on  a  roll- 
ing ship,  one  can  only  bend  in  jerks.  To  our  joy 
these  parades  were  short  affairs,  for  there  was 
only  the  limited  space  of  the  boat  and  saloon 
decks  and  each  platoon  had  to  take  its  ttim  in 


66  "OVER  THERE" 

occupying  this  very  limited  parade-ground — so 
the  greater  part  of  the  time  was  spent  in  passing 
remarks  about  the  slovenly  work  of  every  other 
squad  but  one's  own.  Of  course  there  were  always 
fatigue  and  guard  duties.  I'll  never  forget  my 
first  butcher's  fatigue,  for  when  I  stooped  to  pick 
up  a  carcass  of  mutton,  I  thought  the  best  way  to 
carry  it  would  be  to  hang  it  round  my  neck  like 
a  feather  boa,  but  no  log  of  wood  was  stiffer  or 
more  unbending  than  that  frozen  woolly,  and  I 
asked  if  we  were  expected  to  eat  that.  No  won- 
der so  much  coal  is  used  on  a  ship  when  the  food 
has  to  be  thawed  out!  But  this  job  was  very- 
comforting,  for  I  saw  the  inside  of  the  ship's  store- 
house, and  never  feared,  though  we  were  wrecked 
on  a  desert  island,  there  would  be  any  danger  of 
our  starving. 

We  turned  out  some  pretty  ragtime  guards — 
sentries  were  posted  at  different  parts  of  the  ship, 
the  most  important  being  the  guard  over  the 
liquor,  and  another  sentry  at  the  saloon  gangway, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  prevent  any  private  or 
other  common  person  trespassing  on  the  hallowed 
ground  sacred  to  the  cigarette-ash  and  footprints 
of  officers.  This  last  sentry  was  expected  to 
salute  the  O.  C.  troops  and  commander  of  the 
ship,  all  other  salutes  being  dispensed  with,  as 
on  board  ship  we  saw  our  officers  some  five  hundred 
and  ninety  times  a  day,  and  their  arms  would 
have  been  whirling  like  windmills  had  they  been 


MANY  W^EKS  AT  SEA  67 

compelled  to  return  our  salutes.  I  remember 
one  sentry  failing  to  recognize  the  commander-in- 
chief,  and  presently  the  colonel  spoke  to  him  thus : 
"What  are  you  doing  here,  my  man?"     "I'm 

supposed  to  be  a  sentry."     "Well,  do  you 

know  that  I  am  supposed  to  be  the colonel  ? " 

"Oh!    Well,  I'm  supposed  to  give  you  a  

salute!"  And  the  sentry  forthwith  performed 
his  belated  duty. 

On  this  ship  the  ofiScers  were  all  pretty  popular, 
especially  one  who  was  never  known  by  any  title 
or  other  designation  than  "Jerry."  Jerry  had 
more  self-confidence  than  any  man  I  have  ever 
met.  He  could  not  correctly  put  a  platoon 
through  its  formations,  but  would  not  hesitate 
to  take  charge  of  a  battalion.  When  he  had 
given  some  orders  and  had  hopelessly  mixed  up 
a  company,  he  would  look  at  the  mess  with  an  air 
of  superiority  that  proclaimed  to  aU  and  simdry 
that  he  was  commanding  a  lot  of  imbeciles,  and 
then  he  would  calmly  throw  the  responsibility 
of  disentangHng  themselves  upon  the  men  by 
the  order:  "As  you  were  !" 

It  was  a  puzzle  to  all  as  to  how  he  got  his 
commission.  He  was  tall  and  spruce,  most  scru- 
pulous in  the  fit  of  his  uniform,  but  absolutely  too 
lazy  to  learn  his  job.  He  was  something  of  a 
joke  as  an  ofificer,  yet  his  men  got  to  like  him  for 
his  good  humor  and  absolute  indifference  to  the 
censure  of  his  superiors.     In  instructing  a  squad 


68  "OVER  THERE" 

he  would  quite  calmly  read  aloud  out  of  a  drill- 
book  right  under  the  eyes  of  the  colonel,  and  his 
air  of  calm  assurance  under  rebuke  would  so  an- 
noy his  superiors  that  he  frequently  escaped  much 
censure,  for  few  senior  officers  are  willing  to  dis- 
play a  loss  of  temper  in  front  of  the  men,  as  it 
makes  for  a  loss  of  dignity.  One  day  Jerry  found 
a  sentry  asleep  at  his  post  while  he  was  on  "visit- 
ing rounds"  as  officer  of  the  guard.  All  Jerry 
did  was  to  drawl  out:  "Next  time  you  go  to 
sleep,  my  lad,  you'll  wake  up  in  hell!"  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  he  was  too  good-natured  to  have 
a  man  punished,  and  as  the  boys  realized  this, 
they  would  not  let  any  one  take  advantage  of 
him.  We  did  not  think  there  was  anything 
that  Jerry  could  do  properly  until  the  first  con- 
cert. 

These  concerts  were  weekly  affairs,  and  we  had 
three  artists  who  were  equal  to  the  best.  Tom 
Dawson,  the  Tivoli  comedian,  who  was  after- 
ward killed  in  France,  was  one  of  us  and  always 
willing  to  provide  half  a  dozen  songs,  with  his 
india-rubber  face  stretched  to  suit  each  part. 
He  was  a  prime  favorite.  Then  we  had  an  oper- 
atic tenor  who  could  sing  a  solo  from  almost  any 
Italian  opera,  but  his  talent  was  not  appreciated 
— some  one  would  be  bound  to  call  "Pretty 
Joey!"  in  the  middle  of  his  most  impassioned 
passages.  He  got  plenty  of  applause  when  he 
sang  about  "the  end  of  a  perfect  day,"  even 


MANY  WEEKS  AT  SEA  69 

though  the  day  had  been  as  beastly  as  a  severe 
storm  could  make  it  for  a  thousand-odd  men 
cooped  up  so  closely  that  only  a  third  of  them 
could  see  the  sky  at  one  time.  His  efforts  to 
educate  our  musical  taste  completely  failed,  for 
the  announcement  that  he  was  going  to  sing  in 
Italian  always  raised  cries  of  "Steaka-de-oysf  !" 
"Fiji  banana !"  etc. 

Another  real  artist  played  the  mandolin,  and 
when  he  appeared  with  it  first  of  all  he  was  greeted 
with  cries  of  "Gertie!"  As  he  played,  however, 
he  held  the  boys  spellbound  and  never  after  failed 
to  get  an  encore,  though  many  still  held  that  a 
mandolin  was  only  a  ' '  sissy  "  instrument.  But  the 
star  performer,  to  every  one's  surprise,  was  Jerry. 
Here  was  one  thing  he  could  do,  at  any  rate ! 
His  recitation  of  "Gunga  Dhin"  brought  tears  to 
our  eyes,  and  thereafter  no  programme  was  com- 
plete without  this  item. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  voyage  the  concerts  lost 
popularity,  as  there  were  only  three  or  four  art- 
ists; and  there  was  no  stock  of  music  on  board, 
so  their  two  or  three  songs  became  as  wearisome 
as  a  much-played  gramophone  record.  The  box- 
ing and  wrestling  matches  always  held  the  crowd, 
and  there  was  no  lack  of  competition,  for  the 
runner-up  was  always  sure  that  he  would  have  won 
but  for  bad  luck  and  was  ever  ready  for  another 
try.  These  were  no  "pussy"  shows,  for  we  had 
some  professionals  among  us:  "Sailor  Duffy,"  one 


70  "OVER  THERE" 

of  our  second  lieutenants,  was  middleweight  cham- 
pion of  Victoria,  and  one  of  the  ship's  crew  was 
champion  wrestler  of  London.  There  were  others 
who  required  convincing,  at  any  rate,  that  they 
were  not  as  good  as  the  champions,  and  anyway 
there  were  always  plenty  of  disputes  during  the 
day  that  by  general  consent  were  settled  in  the 
ring  at  night.  This  was  how  we  passed  the  long 
weeks  to  Colombo,  our  first  port  of  call. 

To  the  white  man  having  to  make  his  home  at 
Colombo  it  may  not  be  paradise,  but  to  the  sea- 
weary  landlubber  who  has  been  weeks  without 
a  sight  of  land,  there  never  was  place  more  dehght- 
ful.  The  first  day  we  weren't  allowed  ashore,  but 
there  were  other  troop-ships  lying  in  the  harbor, 
and  soon  pretty  well  every  man  who  could  find  a 
footing  on  the  rigging  was  semaphoring  like  mad : 
"Who  are  you?  Where'd  you  come  from? 
Where  are  you  going  ? "  We  discovered  one  boat 
was  full  of  New  Zealanders  and  we  coo-eed  and 
waved  wildly  to  them,  feeling  that  New  Zealand 
ought  to  be  part  of  Australia,  anyhow,  and  they 
were  almost  homelanders.  There  were  also  some 
Indian  troops  bound  for  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  im- 
mediately the  nmaor  started  that  that  was  where 
we  were  bound,  and  everybody  looked  pretty 
blue.  Pretty  soon  some  coal-Hghters  came  along- 
side— that  is,  we  discovered  there  was  coal  in 
them  after  they  had  discharged  their  living  freight, 
for  they  were  simply  black  with  niggers.     There 


MANY  WEEKS  AT  SEA  71 

did  not  seem  to  be  an  inch  of  boat  space  that  was 
not  covered  up  by  nigger.  About  half  of  them 
started  to  work,  for  the  method  of  coaHng  in  these 
parts  is  for  the  niggers  to  carry  aboard  about  a 
teaspoonful  in  a  wicker  basket.  By  working  in 
shifts  and  maintaining  a  constant  stream  of  men 
hurrying  from  Hghters  to  ship  each  with  his  spoon- 
ful of  coal,  sufficient  is  taken  inboard  in  a  very- 
long  time.  Those  who  were  not  coaling,  loudly 
proclaimed  that  they  would  dive  for  money  and 
thereafter,  by  day  and  night,  our  ears  were 
assailed  by  their  cries:  "Me  di'."  "Gib  it 
money."  "You  throw."  It  was  very  amusing 
for  the  first  hour  or  two,  but  we  soon  got  heartily 
sick  of  their  importunity  and  their  incessant 
chatter. 

The  second  day  we  were  allowed  a  couple  of 
hours  ashore,  and  as  many  had  a  three-weeks' 
thirst,  they  saw  no  more  of  Colombo  than  the  in- 
side of  a  hotel  bar.  Others  of  us  were  amused 
at  being  escorted  through  the  streets  by  the  nigger 
policemen  with  whips,  who  did  not  hesitate  to 
belabor  very  energetically  any  niggers  who  ap- 
proached us  too  closely;  but  while  the  policeman 
was  chasing  one  nigger  another  would  seize  his 
chance  and  offer  for  sale  native  jewelry  of  ex- 
quisite workmanship,  at  what  would  seem  to  us  a 
ridiculously  low  price,  but  we  were  assured  by 
every  one  that  whatever  price  they  asked  was 
ten  times  its  value.     Some  of  the  boys  were  after 


72  '  "  OVER  THERE  " 

souvenirs,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  realized  that  we 
had  money  to  spend  we  were  followed  about,  dur- 
ing our  whole  stay,  by  scores  of  merchants,  some 
simply  loaded  down  with  the  entire  stock  of  their 
shops.  Our  time  ashore  was  too  short  for  us  to 
see  what  Colombo  really  was  like,  but  it  was 
delightful  to  be  able  to  stretch  our  legs  ashore 
again,  and  the  novelty  and  charm  of  the  streets 
and  the  luxuriant  tropical  vegetation  made  us 
feel  that  we  would  be  willing  to  remain  a  life- 
time amid  scenes  of  such  fascination  and  color. 

After  Colombo  the  days  were  more  wearisome 
than  before.  The  weather  was  scorching  and 
only  a  few  of  us  could  get  on  deck  at  a  time  for  a 
breath  of  fresh  air.  Long  before  nightfall  the 
decks  would  be  covered  with  men  lying  on  their 
blankets,  for  permission  was  given  to  as  many  as 
there  was  room  for  to  sleep  on  the  boat  and 
saloon  decks,  and  as  there  was  only  room  for  a 
twentieth  of  the  complement,  one  had  to  grab  one's 
position  early.  Some  preferred  a  comfortable 
night's  rest  to  their  tea,  and  so  would  occupy  their 
man's  length  of  deck  space  while  the  others  were 

eating. 

Going  through  the  Red  Sea  was  a  feast  of 
beauty,  for  the  evening  colors  of  the  sand-hills 
were  gorgeous,  and  inconceivable  to  any  but  an 
eye-witness.  We  were  now  on  biblical  ground,  and 
great  were  the  religious  arguments  that  waged. 
One  boy  wrote  home  that  one  of  the  ship's  anchors 


MANY  WEEKS  AT  SEA  73 

had  brought  up  a  wheel  from  the  chariot  of  Pha- 
raoh, and  his  mother  had  repHed  that  she  was  glad 
he  was  visiting  such  historic  country,  but  when  he 
later  on  told  her  that  "Big  Lizzie"  was  firing 
shells  twenty-seven  miles  at  the  Dardanelles,  she 
wrote  him  that  she  was  afraid  life  in  the  army  was 
making  him  exaggerate  things  and  that  he  should 
keep  strictly  to  the  truth  ! 

There  was  fighting  going  on  at  Aden  when  we 
passed — some  Bedouins  were  attacking  the  town 
from  the  desert  side,  but  evidently  it  was  not 
serious,  for,  to  our  disappointment,  we  were  not 
asked  to  join  in.  We  were  merely  examined  by 
a  British  war-ship  and  told  to  pass  on. 

At  Suez  we  disembarked  and  we  were  none  of 
us  sorry  to  say  good-bye  to  the  old  ship,  and  there 
were  no  fond  farewells  taken  of  the  crew,  for  they 
were  as  unpatriotic  a  set  of  scoundrels  as  ever 
sailed  under  the  British  flag.  They  robbed  us 
right  and  left.  They  stole  our  ration  jam,  selling 
it  to  us  in  the  form  of  a  drink.  A  penny  a  glass 
would  buy  "pineapple  cordial, "  which  was  merely 
a  tin  of  pineapple  jam  mixed  up  in  a  ship's  bucket 
of  iced  water.  "Orangeade"  was  marmalade  jam 
and  water.  Strange  to  say,  there  were  always 
enough  "boobs"  among  us  soldiers  to  fall  for  it. 
On  board  ship  we  were  not  allowed  to  wear  boots, 
as  the  hobnails  in  our  miHtary  footwear  could  cut 
up  the  deck,  so  those  that  hadn't  shoes  went  bare- 
foot, but  at  the  end  of  the  voyage  when  we  began 


74  "OVER  THERE" 

to  search  for  our  boots  there  was  the  deuce  to 
pay.  Only  half  the  men  could  find  them  at  all, 
and  it  was  only  through  a  search  of  the  whole 
ship  that  many  of  us  did  not  have  to  walk  in  the 
sands  of  Egypt  barefooted.  The  missing  pairs 
were  found  among  the  sailors,  of  course,  one  of 
them  even  having  six.  It  is  a  wonder  those 
sailors  didn't  cut  our  hair  when  we  were  asleep 
to  stuff  their  pillows — they  certainly  skinned  us 
as  close  as  they  could. 


PART  II 
EGYPT 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  LAND  OF  SAND  AND  SWEAT 

How  we  hated  Egypt  before  we  left  it !  It 
may  be  a  land  of  fascination  to  the  tourist  who 
drives  about  in  gharris  to  view  its  wonders  and 
stays  at  a  European  hotel,  but  to  be  there  as  a 
soldier,  to  lie  in  its  vile  sand,  to  swallow  its  con- 
glomerated stinks,  to  rub  the  filth  off  the  seats  in 
the  third-class  train-carriages,  to  have  under  your 
eyes  continually  the  animated  lump  of  muck  that 
the  "Gyppo"  is,  to  have  your  ears  filled  continu- 
ally with  the  vile  expressions  that  the  Egyptian 
conceives  as  wit,  is  an  experience  that  makes  one 
so  disgusted  that  few  Australians  that  were  there 
will  ever  want  to  see  the  rotten  country  again. 
At  first,  however,  all  was  novelty,  and  we  were 
like  children  on  a  picnic  as  we  marched  from  the 
wharf  into  the  third-class  carriages  of  the  Egyp- 
tian state  railways  waiting  for  us  just  outside  the 
gates.  It  was  some  job  getting  into  those  car- 
riages. Ordinarily  white  people  travelled  first- 
class,  but  we  were  troops,  and  it  was  like  pushing 
against  a  wall  to  pass  the  smell  that  came  from 
the  doors  of  these  carriages  that  had  been  the 
preserves  of  the  unwashed  nigger  of  varied  age 
and  sex  for  the  Lord  knows  how  many  years. 

77 


78  "OVER  THERE" 

We  left  the  ship  with  twenty-four  hours*  pro- 
visions, which  were  all  consumed  on  that  train. 
Some  of  us  managed  to  get  a  little  sleep  by  pack- 
ing all  the  equipment  in  the  end  of  the  carriage 
and  sitting  on  the  floor  back  to  back.     Now  and 
again  the  train  would  stop  at  nowhere  in  particu- 
lar, when  we  would  be  assailed  by  any  thing-but- 
clean  niggers,  who  would  draw  oranges  and  other 
fruit    from   inside    their    shirts.     We    had    been 
warned  against  eating  anything  in  Egypt  that 
could  not  be  skinned,  and  when  we  saw  the  nig- 
gers and  where  they  kept  their  stock  in  trade  we 
knew  the  reason.     So  far  we  had  nothing  but 
EngHsh  money,  and,  though  we  had  been  given 
lectiu-es   before   disembarking   on   the   values   of 
Egyptian  money,  we  had  to  pay  liberal  exchange 
to  these  train-side  merchants.     Oranges  cost  us 
about   two  cents   apiece,   though  later  on  with 
Egyptian  money  we  bought  them  three  for  a  half 
piastre  (three  cents).     The  only  station  I  remem- 
ber on  this  trip  was  because  of  its  curious-sounding 
name,  Zagizig,  where  we  had  a  stroll  along  the 
platform  and  met  some  of  our  lordly  Sikhs  from 
India,  who  were  all  smiles  when  they  discovered 
we  were  Australians.     In  the  early  dawn  we  dis- 
entrained   at   Koubbeh   and   after   straightening 
ourselves  out  from  having  been  cramped  up  in 
those  horse-boxes,  we  started  our  march  of  about 
ten  miles,   carrying  full  pack,   to  the  camp  at 
Zeitoun.     But   here   there   was   no   arrangement 


THE  LAND   OF  SAND  AND   SWEAT    79 

for  our  breakfast.  The  New  Zealanders  and 
Australians  already  camped  there  had  only  their 
own  day's  rations,  and  we  hadxonsumed  oiu-s  on 
the  train.  How  we  cursed  the  powers  that  be ! 
We  had  humped  our  eighty-pound  packs  those 
weary  miles  and  when  we  thought  we  had  arrived 
— no  tucker !  There  might  have  been  some 
trouble;  grumbling  might  have  led  to  action  in  a 
raid  on  somebody's  stores,  but  for  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
hut.  They  served  out  hot  tea  and  in  a  few  mo- 
ments grumbling  gave  place  to  "chiaching"; 
criticism  that  a  few  moments  ago  had  been  edged 
was  now  good-humored.  Give  an  Australian  sol- 
dier hot  tea  and  it  will  pick  him  up  quicker  than 
any  other  drink  on  earth. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

HELIOPOLIS 

Our  camp  was  just  outside  the  new  city  of 
Heliopolis,  which  was  built  at  the  cost  of  about 
$40,000,000  by  a  Belgian  syndicate  to  rival  Monte 
Carlo,  but  it  was  a  fiasco  as  a  money-making  con- 
cern. Nevertheless,  there  were  some  gorgeous 
buildings,  and  it  was  a  soiu-ce  of  constant  interest 
to  us.  The  Palace  Hotel  was  the  most  magnifi- 
cent building  I  have  ever  seen;  used  by  us  as 
a  hospital.  There  was  no  lack  of  marble,  and  the 
mosaics  were  marvellous.  The  lamp-stands  were 
of  a  luiique  and  exquisite  design.  The  contract 
provided  that  the  pattern  should  be  destroyed 
after  they  were  made,  so  they  would  not  be  copied. 
It  was  rather  incongruous  to  see  nothing  but  rows 
and  rows  of  army  cots,  and  the  white-robed  nurses 
flitting  about  in  rooms  that  were  manifestly  in- 
tended for  luxurious  divans  and  the  evening 
dress  of  fashion.  Lying  in  those  cots,  one  had 
but  to  gaze  ceilingward,  and  forget  that  one  was 
in  a  hospital.  It  required  little  imagination  to 
people  the  rooms  with  the  same  splendor  and 
fashion  that  fills  Monte  Carlo,  and  maybe,  had 
the  war  not  come  and  the  gambling  license  been 

granted,   all  this  barbaric  splendor  would  have 

80 


HELIOPOLIS  8 1 

been  perfumed  with  the  scents  of  "attar  of  roses  " 
and  "Hly-of-the-valley"  instead  of  "iodoform" 
and  "  carbolic." 

Another  hospital  was  in  Lima  Park,  which  had 
been  built  to  cater  to  the  amusement  of  thousands 
of  joy-seekers,  but  the  only  joy  there  now  was 
in  reHef  from  pain.  It  was  fun  to  make  the 
round  of  the  wards,  for  many  beds  were  on  the 
scenic  railway,  and  you  would  visit  one  poor 
chap  in  a  high  fever,  lying  amid  painted  ice  and 
snow,  while  another  nursed  his  broken  leg  along- 
side a  precipice  that  might  well  have  caused  it. 
I  walked  in  to  see  the  sights  one  day,  and  passing 
through  a  cave  almost  fell  over  a  bed  whereon 
was  my  own  brother,  whose  whereabouts  I  had 
been  trying  to  discover  for  days.  Such  are  the 
coincidences  of  life. 

The  streets  of  this  town  were  spacious  and  very 
clean  and  were  bordered  by  fine  buildings  with 
granite  and  marble  pillars  and  some  fine  masonry 
lacework.  Unfortimately,  poor  taste  was  often 
shown,  with  plaster  alongside  the  marble,  and  the 
stone  used  was  too  soft  and  already  in  places  was 
cnmibling.  In  Egypt,  where  it  rarely  rains,  the 
climate  is  kind  to  the  jerry-builder,  and  it's  only 
when  Jupiter  Pluvius  wants  a  laugh  and  sends  a 
regular  tropical  downpour  that  the  buildings  that 
were  a  thing  of  beauty  and  a  joy  forever  come  to 
earth  and  are  no  more.  We  ourselves  were  on 
one  occasion  victims  of  this  god's  fim.     We  were 


82  "OVER  THERE" 

told  that  it  never  rained,  and  our  huts  were  built 
just  to  shelter  us  from  the  sun,  but  at  2  a.  m. 
the  grim  old  weather-god  turned  on  the  shower, 
and  no  doubt  it  amused  him  a  good  deal  to  hear 
our  curses  as  we  tried  to  shelter  ourselves  and 
tucker  beneath  greatcoats  and  water-proof  sheet- 
ing. There  was  no  chance  of  "getting  in  out  of 
the  rain,"  for  there  was  not  a  water-proof  shelter 
for  miles.  Egypt  is  not  the  only  place,  though, 
where  the  residents  know  least  about  their  own 
climate ! 

Heliopolis,  anyivay,  is  a  skeleton  of  a  town,  for 
most  of  these  buildings  were  merely  occupied  in 
the  front,  by  Greek  and  Indian  merchants  who 
had  anticipated  our  coming.  In  these  shops  any- 
thing could  be  bought,  from  a  microbe  (which 
was  sometimes  given  away)  to  an  elephant  (nearly 
always  a  white  one)  !  However,  there  were  silks 
galore  and  filagree-work  of  beauty,  but  the  big- 
gest trade  was  done  in  colored  handkerchiefs, 
crudely  worked  on  a  sewing-machine  with  a  de- 
sign of  the  pyramids  and  "Advance  Australia." 
The  cuteness  of  these  merchants  was  also  evi- 
denced in  the  signs  on  their  stores.  The  first 
Australian  to  stroll  down  those  streets  was  amazed 
to  see,  in  huge  lettering,  "The  Melbourne  Store," 
next  door  to  "The  Sydney  Shop."  They  even 
knew  oiu-  slang,  for  here  was  "The  'Fair  Dinkum' 
Store,"  and  across  the  way  "Ribuck  Goods." 
Prices  were  pretty  much  what  you  Hked  to  pay. 


HELIOPOLIS  83 

At  any  rate  I  never  failed  to  get  an  article  by 
paying  only  a  quarter  of  the  first-named  price. 

The  most  persistent  of  professionals  were  the 
bootblacks.  You  had  to  have  your  boots  cleaned 
whether  you  liked  it  or  not !  Stop  for  a  moment 
to  talk  to  a  friend  and  there  was  a  nigger  on  each 
foot,  industriously  brushing  away  as  if  his  life 
depended  on  it.  They  would  follow  you  on  to  a 
tram-car,  and  whether  you  got  a  seat  or  not  there 
would  be  somebody  working  on  your  boots  two 
seconds  after  boarding  it.  Another  nuisance  were 
the  sellers  of  swagger-sticks,  and  I  have  fre- 
quently bought  one  just  for  the  pleasure  of  lay- 
ing it  across  the  back  of  its  previous  owner.  They 
soon  picked  up  our  language  and  its  choicest 
words,  but  one  word  they  never  understood  was 
"No  /"  The  first  Egyptian  word  we  learned  was 
"Imshir*  literally,  "Get!"— but  it  generally  re- 
quired the  backing  of  a  military  boot  to  make  it 
effective.  The  Australianese  that  the  "Gyppos" 
picked  up  is  not  commonly  used  in  polite  society; 
maybe  they  thought  it  correct  English,  but  it  was 
sometimes  very  embarrassing  when  walking  down 
the  street  with  a  nurse.  And  some  polite  mer- 
chants were  sorely  puzzled  when  the  effect  of 
their  well-chosen  words  and  bow  was  an  unin- 
tentional biting  of  the  dust. 

We  must  pass  a  vote  of  thanks,  however,  to 
the  syndicate  for  providing  us  with  some  ideal 
club-rooms.     I  guess  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  never  had 


84  "OVER  THERE" 

such  quarters  before  or  since,  and  must  have  had 
to  do  some  squaring  of  conscience  in  calling  these 
"Army  Huts.''  It  was  a  hut,  though,  all  right, 
out  at  the  camp,  made  of  grass  mats,  held  to- 
gether with  string,  but  it  was  the  usual  boon  and 
blessing  to  men,  and  I  guess  there  were  few  let- 
ters left  camp  that  weren't  on  Red  Triangle  paper. 
I  may  as  well  mention  here,  too,  that  the  best 
meals  I  had  since  leaving  home  were  in  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  building  in  the  Esbekiah  Gardens  in 
Cairo,  so  here's  a  thank-you  to  those  ladies  and 
the  management. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  DESERT 

I  KNOW  more  about  the  desert  in  Egypt  than 
any  other  part  of  it,  for  it  was  on  the  desert  we 
trained.  There  were  sham  fights  galore,  but  it 
was  mostly  squad  and  company  drill,  imtil  if 
some  devil  had  scooped  out  our  brain-boxes  and 
filled  them  with  sawdust  we  coiild  have  carried 
out  the  orders  just  as  well.  In  fact,  one  fellow 
must  have  gone  mad  with  the  monotony  of  it 
and  perpetrated  the  rhyme,  to  the  tune  of  "The 
Red,  White,  and  Blue": 

"At  the  halt,  on  the  left,  form  platoons. 
At  the  halt,  on  the  left,  form  platoons, 
If  the  odd  numbers  don't  mark  time  two  paces, 
How  the  hell  can  the  boys  form  platoons?" 

I  don't  know  whether  the  author  was  ever 
fotmd,  but  I  know  plenty  that  were  laid  out  for 
singing  it.  We  began  to  have  a  sinking  feeling 
that  we  would  not  be  in  the  real  scrap  at  all,  for 
a  good  part  of  our  time  was  taken  up  in  forming 
"hollow  square,"  a  formation  that  is  famous  in 
the  British  army  as  having  been  only  once  broken, 
but  is  only  of  value  against  savages,  and  "fur- 
phies"  (unfoimded  rumors)  spread  that  we  were 

8s 


86  "OVER  THERE" 

going  into  Darkest  Africa  or  the  Soudan.  How- 
ever, we  also  practised  echelon  for  artillery  for- 
mation, that  is,  breaking  a  company  into  chunks 
and  throwing  it  about  at  unequal  distances,  so 
that  a  shell  falling  on  one  chunk  would  not  wipe 
any  of  the  others  off  the  map.  Then  there  was 
more  gloom,  for  that  looked  as  if  the  war  was 
real,  and  there  must  be  something  in  what  the 
papers  were  saying  after  all.  About  this  time 
some  of  the  boys'  letters  began  to  contain  more 
war  news  even  than  the  papers,  for  the  padre, 
who  was  regimental  censor,  informed  us  that  if 
he  let  our  mail  go  home  unpencilled  there  would 
be  many  mothers  weeping  at  the  danger  their 
boys  were  in,  as  they  described  fierce  battles  in 
the  desert.  Even  as  it  was,  letters  were  published 
in  home  papers  that  showed  our  regiment  to 
have  been  four  times  annihilated  while  we  were 
in  training !  The  only  shots  these  fellows  heard 
all  day  were  the  popping  of  the  corks  in  the  wet 
canteen!  (No  charge  to  the  "drys"  for  this 
story !) 

And  then,  of  course,  we  route-marched — in 
the  desert,  please  remember;  a  very  different 
thing,  Mr.  Rookie,  to  the  same  thing  on  made 
roads !  For  one  thing,  we  were  not  supposed  to 
do  more  than  fifteen  miles  a  day,  but  on  the  des- 
ert there  were  no  milestones,  and  the  distance 
was  "estimated"  by  the  officer  in  command. 
Some  of  these  officers  must  have  been  city  trea- 


THE  DESERT  87 

surers  in  private  life,  for  their  estimate  of  distance 
was  like  estimated  annual  expenditure,  generally 
much  under  the  mark.  Mostly  they  would  know 
when  we  had  gone  far  enough,  which  for  us  was 
too  far,  and  then  we  would  get  lost  coming  back. 
Fortunately,  there  was  a  lot  of  men  camped  in 
that  desert,  and  as  it  is  customary  for  a  man  lost 
to  travel  in  a  circle,  we  would  generally  run  into 
some  camp  or  other,  otherwise  I'm  afraid  we 
would  now  be  a  petrified  army,  "somewhere  in 
Sahara."  Ten  miles  with  an  eighty-pound  pack 
on  your  back,  through  heavy  sand,  is  as  much  as 
a  man  can  endure;  after  that  he  doesn't  endure, 
he  just  carries  on,  and  on,  and  on,  and  on.  At 
that  time  your  company  are  all  feet  and  are  walk- 
ing  on   your  brain.     Anyway,   the  man   behind 

you  does  actually  walk  on  your heels  every 

second  step. 

In  the  desert,  also,  did  we  dig  trenches.  No, 
not  the  same  thing  as  digging  trenches  anywhere ! 
For  it  is  really  nearly  as  easy  to  dig  trenches  in 
the  ocean.  For  every  spadeful  you  throw  out 
two  fall  in,  and  if,  by  the  use  of  much  cunning, 
you  do  manage  to  get  a  hole  dug,  then  you  must 
not  leave  it  for  a  single  instant,  for  it  is  only  wait- 
ing until  your  back  is  turned  to  disappear.  There 
is  one  thing — those  trenches  were  good  cover,  for 
we  would  no  sooner  occupy  them  than  we  would 
be  covered  up  entirely.  I  would  defy  an  aero- 
plane with  the  best  "made  in  Germany"  specta- 


88  "OVER  THERE" 

cles  to  discover  whether  we  were  men  or  mum- 
mies. 

But  we  had  one  very  exciting  trench-digging 
expedition.  We  dug,  if  you  please,  into  an  old 
city,  and  broke  into  tombs  imipteen  thousand 
years  old.  There  were  scarabs  and  ancient  jewels 
there  that  the  Field  Museum  would  give  their 
eye-teeth  for.  We  were  ordered  to  deliver  our 
finds  to  the  authorities,  but  I  am  afraid  many 
of  the  boys  had  "sticky"  fingers.  It  was  all  jolly 
interesting,  but  there  is  a  fly  in  every  box  of  oint- 
ment, and  the  supposed  age  of  these  relics  brought 
home  to  us  the  fact  that  this  soil  had  been  lived 
on  for  thousands  of  years  by  people  much  like 
our  present  neighbors,  without  any  sanitary  ideas; 
and  one  of  oiu-  fellows  with  a  scientific  mind  pic- 
tiu-ed  to  us  every  grain  of  sand  as  being  a  globe 
inhabited  by  germs.  This  was  comforting,  for 
we  each  of  us  swallowed  a  few  billion  of  these 
"imiverses"  every  day!  They  got  in  our  eyes, 
in  our  ears,  in  our  nose  and  mouth,  but  if  they 
got  into  a  cut  by  any  chance,  then  we  were  sub- 
jects for  the  doctor.  "Oh  Egypt,  thou  land  of 
teeming  life,  how  healthy  wouldst  thou  be  if 
you  weren't  so  overcrowded!" 

Yet  there  was  beauty  in  the  desert.  We  would 
frequently  pick  up  agates,  sapphires,  and  tur- 
quoise matrix.  But  its  beauty  was  chiefly  sug- 
gestive. There  were  gorgeous  sunsets — poetry 
there,   but   more  poetry   still   in   the   wonderful 


THE  DESERT  89 

mirages.  Why,  here,  hung  above  the  earth,  were 
scenes  from  every  age:  Cleopatra's  galleys,  Alex- 
ander's legions,  the  pomp  of  the  Mamelukes, 
Ptolemy  and  Pompey,  Napoleon  and  Gordon — 
their  times  and  deeds  were  all  pictured  here. 
Perhaps  the  spirit  world  has  its  "movies,"  and 
only  here  in  the  desert  mirage  is  the  "screen" 
of  stuff  that  can  be  seen  with  mortal  eyes. 

But  beauty  is  not  for  soldiers — the  desert  was 
our  "schoolmaster."  It  was  the  right-hand  man 
of  Kitchener,  and  well  did  it  perform  its  task  of 
putting  iron  into  our  spirits  and  turning  our 
muscles  into  steel,  and  making  us  fit  for  whatever 
job  the  Maker  of  Armies  had  for  us.  He  knew 
the  place  to  train  us — where  the  weaklings  would 
fall  and  only  the  very  fit  survive.  Any  soldier 
who  passed  through  his  grades  in  the  "academy 
of  the  desert"  might  not  shine  in  a  guard  of  honor 
to  a  princess;  his  skin  would  be  blistered,  his 
clothes  would  be  stained,  but  he'd  be  the  equal  in 
strength  of  any  man  on  earth,  and  would  have 
fought  the  attacks  of  every  known  disease.  It 
was  Egypt  and  the  desert  that  made  Gallipoli 
possible,  and  the  Australian  army  owes  much  to 
the  astuteness  of  Kitchener,  who  knew  the  ideal 
training-groimd  for  the  daredevil  freeman  from 
"down  under." 


CHAPTER  X 
PICKETING  IN  CAIRO 

No  man  in  the  British  Empire  knew  Egypt 
better  than  Lord  Kitchener,  and  he  had  very  good 
reasons,  apart  from  training,  in  sending  us  there. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever  that  the  majority 
of  the  Egyptians  were  pro-Turkish  if  not  pro- 
German.  The  educated  Egyptian,  like  the  Babu 
in  Bengal,  is  specially  fitted  by  nature  for  intrigue, 
and  if  he  sees  a  chance  to  oppose  whatever  govern- 
ment is  in  power  and  keep  his  own  skin,  it  is  his 
idea  of  living  well.  Egypt  was  immediately  put 
under  martial  law,  but  there  was  plenty  of  scope 
for  a  while  for  the  midnight  assassin  and  the 
poisoner.  Here  and  there  soldiers  would  dis- 
appear and  street  riots  would  be  started  by  the 
wind.  Who  would  not  turn  round  on  seeing  an 
R.  S.  V.  P.  eye  in  a  face  whose  veil  enhanced  the 
beauty  it  did  not  hide?  But  there  would  always 
be  some  sedition-monger  to  immediately  fill  the 
street  with  a  thousand  yelling  maniacs  who  would 
scream  that  their  reHgion  had  been  insulted  by 
the  accursed  infidels.  Religion  they  knew  nothing 
about,  but  to  make  trouble  was  their  meat  and 
drink.     There  was  a  good  deal  of  Irish  blood 

among  us,  and  many  men  who  would  rather  fight 

90 


PICKETING  IN  CAIRO  91 

than  go  to  the  opera,  so  there  were  some  good  old 
ding-dong  scraps.  Of  course  the  "Gyppo"  is 
no  fighter,  but  he  can  stand  behind  and  throw- 
stones  and  can't  resist  plunging  the  knife  into  an 
inviting  back,  so  sometimes  our  boys  would  get 
laid  out.  A  street  row  is  always  a  dangerous 
thing,  for  those  in  front  cry  "Back!"  and  those 
behind  cry  "Forward !"  and  there  is  likely  to  be 
a  jam  in  which  the  innocent,  if  there  are  any,  get 
hurt.  I  saw  a  pretty  ugly-looking  crowd  dis- 
persed with  a  characteristic  Australian  weapon. 
Firing  over  their  heads  had  no  effect,  nor  threats 
of  a  bayonet  charge,  but  when  two  Australian 
bushmen  began  plying  stockwhips,  those  niggers 
made  themselves  scarcer  than  mice  on  the  smell 
of  a  cat.  As  a  good  manipulator  of  the  stockwhip 
can  pull  the  cork  from  a  bottle,  maybe  these 
plotters  were  afraid  of  having  their  gmlty  secrets 
picked  from  them.  At  any  rate,  there  were  some 
w^ho  lost  flesh  in  a  part  that  would  insure  them 
having  a  smaller  following  thereafter. 

There  was  a  battle  fought  in  Cairo  for  which 
there  will  be  no  medals  distributed  and  to  which 
stay-at-home  Australians  think  there  is  no  honor 
attached,  but  I  doubt  if  any  one  who  took  part  in 
the  battle  of  the  Wasir,  except  maybe  the  military 
poHce,  are  ashamed  of  what  they  did.  Any  one 
who  knows  Cairo  knows  that  there  is  a  part  of 
it  that  is  not  mentionable  at  dinner-table.  It  is 
the  sink  of  the  world.     Every  large  city  has  its 


92  "OVER  THERE" 

sore,  but  Cairo  has  an  ulcer.  This  vile  spot  made 
the  clean  lads  from  the  wind-swept  plains  and 
scented  bush  of  Australia  absolutely  sick.  The 
Australian  is  a  practical  idealist,  and  for  him  to  see 
dirt  is  to  want  to  remove  it.  Besides  which,  this 
place  was  a  nest  of  spies  and  enemies.  There 
were  several  of  our  boys  who  disappeared,  and, 
though  it  may  be  said  they  had  no  right  there, 
the  sign  "No  Admittance"  is  one  that  the  aver- 
age Australian  has  never  been  able  to  read.  It 
was  one  of  those  scraps  that  no  one  starts  but  that 
breaks  out  of  itself,  because  it  has  been  brewing 
so  long.  There  were  a  few  thousand  of  the  boys 
in  Cairo  that  night,  and  when  the  news  spread 
it  did  not  take  long  for  more  to  come  in  from 
Mena  and  other  camps.  They  did  not  wait  for  the 
motorman  to  start  his  car,  but  in  many  cases 
commandeered  it  for  the  time  being.  Things 
moved  quite  warmly  for  an  hour  or  two :  ladies  of 
low  degree  scuttled  like  rats  and  panders  dashed 
for  safety,  while  "owners"  in  princely  motor- 
cars turned  almost  as  white  as  their  livers  as  they 
saw  their  "warehouses  of  virtue"  going  up  in 
flame.  Two  incidents  are  very  vivid — the  sight 
of  a  grand  piano  timibling  out  of  a  five-story 
window  and  one  of  the  aforesaid  "owners"  trying 
to  remonstrate  with  the  avengers,  and  having  his 
car  run  into  the  fire.  The  military  police  tried  to 
interfere  early  in  the  game,  but  only  made  matters 
worse,  as  they  were  pretty  well  hated  by  the  boys 


PICKETING  IN  CAIRO  93 

as  being  mostly  slackers.  The  attitude  of  many 
of  the  officers  may  be  judged  from  Jerry.  He 
was  looking  on  smoking  a  pipe  when  an  English 
major  dashed  up  to  him,  very  apoplectic.  "Are 
you  an  Australian  officer  ? "  "  Ye — es  ! ' '  drawled 
Jerry.  "Well,  why  don't  you  take  your  men  in 
hand?"  "Can't  see  they  are  doing  any  harm!" 
said  Jerry.  In  the  end  strong-armed  guards  were 
brought  in  from  the  camps,  and  as  the  boys  were 
just  about  tired  anyway  of  their  self-appointed 
policemanship,  things  soon  quieted  down.  There 
were  rumors  that  it  cost  the  Australian  Govern- 
ment a  tidy  sum  of  money,  but  the  burning  of 
those  pest-houses  must  have  risen  like  incense 
to  heaven,  and  one  very  good  effect  it  had,  about 
which  there  will  be  no  dispute — ^it  put  the  fear  of 
God  into  the  Gyppo,  and  Australian  soldiers  after 
that  even  singly  and  in  small  groups  received 
nothing  worse  than  black  looks. 

After  this  Cairo  was  very  thoroughly  picketed 
— the  streets  were  patrolledrall  night  by  parties 
of  ten  or  a  dozen  under  an  N.  C.  O.  I  was  in 
charge  of  one  of  these  parties  for  a  couple  of 
months  and  had  a  good  deal  of  fun  playing 
"policeman"  among  the  cosmopolitan  crowds 
that  infest  Cairo,  We  were  only  armed  with  the 
handles  of  our  intrenching  tools,  which  were 
sticks  of  hardwood  about  twelve  inches  long 
with  an  iron  band  at  the  upper  end,  but  they 
made  very  effective  batons.     I  remember  once 


^--AiV^v  .N 


94  "OVER  THERE" 

we  had  to  settle  a  dispute  at  a  wedding-feast.  I 
suppose  there  must  have  been  a  lack  of  room  in 
the  house,  for  the  meal  was  spread  in  the  street — 
long  tables  with  a  couple  of  hundred  guests 
seated  at  them  right  in  the  way  of  the  traffic.  We 
strolled  past  a  couple  of  times,  but  as  we  had  no 
instructions  to  prevent  folk  using  the  public 
street  for  their  domestic  affairs,  we  saw  no  call 
to  interfere,  but  our  mouths  watered  at  the  sight 
of  the  good  things  to  eat,  and  we  thought  it  rather 
a  tempting  of  Providence  to  spread  this  abundance 
of  food  in  the  open  street  of  a  city  where  there 
are  always  about  a  million  of  people  who  had  not 
enough  to  eat  at  any  time.  We  had  only  gone  a 
couple  of  blocks  away  when  some  wildly  excited 
niggers  rushed  after  us  and  informed  us:  "Plenty 
men  kill  'um  back  there  !"  We  went  back  at  the 
double  and  there  was  as  ugly  a  riot  as  ever  Irish- 
man longed  for.  There  seemed  to  be  a  couple  of 
thousand  yelling  maniacs  packing  both  sides  of 
the  street.  Our  instructions  were  to  prevent 
the  gathering  of  crowds.  There  were  only  ten  of 
us  and  we  had  but  our  improvised  batons,  but  I 
told  the  boys  to  get  into  the  crowd  and  tell  them 
once  to  "imshi"  (get)  and  then  hit.  "Be  sure 
and  never  speak  twice."  We  soon  dispersed  the 
crowd.  There  was  something  about  our  "Nulla- 
nullas"*  that  looked  very  businesslike,  and  none 
stopped  to  argue  the  point. 

*  Australian  native  weapon. 


PICKETING  IN  CAIRO  95 

Sometimes  the  boys  were  pretty  thirsty  in  those 
long  tramps  through  the  streets,  and  the  open 
cafes  were  very  inviting.  But  we  had  an  ex- 
perience that  warned  me  against  allowing  any  of 
them  to  go  in  and  get  a  drink.  One  of  them 
had  certainly  not  been  gone  more  than  a  couple 
of  minutes,  and  he  swears  he  only  had  one  drink ; 
nevertheless,  he  had  to  be  put  in  a  cab  and  sent 
back  to  the  barracks.  We  had  pretty  dull  times 
in  those  barracks — the  Kasr-el-nile  just  alongside 
the  bridge  of  the  same  name.  The  chief  amuse- 
ment was  to  feed  the  hawks  that  all  day  hovered 
in  the  courtyard.  We  woiild  drop  pieces  of  meat 
and  bread  from  the  balcony,  but  so  quick  were  the 
birds  that  I  never  knew  a  piece  to  reach  the  ground. 

Jerry  was  one  of  the  officers  of  the  picket, 
and  we  had  to  report  to  him  at  midnight  at  a 
shelter  in  a  part  of  the  city  with  an  evil  reputa- 
tion. From  here  we  would  issue  in  force  to  close 
for  the  night  the  various  dens  of  iniquity.  Jerry 
would  generally  stroll  ahead  with  his  cane  and 
walk  into  the  resort  of  the  worst  ruffians  on  earth 
with  all  the  assurance  of  a  general  at  the  head  of 
a  brigade.  He  would  announce  to  these,  the  most 
lawless  men  and  women  in  the  world,  that  it  was 
time  to  close  up,  and  there  was  something  in  his 
bearing  that  commanded  prompt  obedience. 

In  fact,  nothing  ever  ruffled  Jerry.  One  night 
a  senior  officer  attached  to  the  commandant  came 
down  in  a  tearing  rage,  and  began  to  dress  Jerry 


96  "OVER  THERE" 

down  for  having  presumed  to  close  up  a  certain 
gambling  resort  without  consulting  the  authorities. 
After  about  twenty  minutes'  harangue  in  which  he 
threatened  Jerry  with  all  manner  of  punishment, 
he  collapsed  at  the  drawled  retort:  "And  then 
you'll  wake  up !" 

Jerry  was  still  on  the  picket  when  I  left  to  go 
down  to  the  Suez  Canal  defenses,  and  I  did  not 
hear  any  more  about  him  imtil  I  met  him  in 
Melbourne  a  few  weeks  ago,  when  I  asked  him 
if  he  had  been  over  to  France,  and  his  reply  was : 
"No.  I — I  came  back."  No  explanation  as  to 
whether  he  was  invalided  or  wounded.  Jerry  was 
quite  equal  to  telling  a  field-marshal  to  go  to  a 
place  even  warmer  than  Egypt.  Maybe  his  ex- 
traordinary self-assurance  got  on  the  nerves  of 
some  general  so  much  that  to  protect  himself 
from  those  critical  eyes  he  had  to  send  Jerry  home. 

The  two  principal  hotels  in  Cairo,  Shepheard's 
and  the  Continental,  were  out  of  boimds  to  all 
but  officers.  Some  of  our  boys  resented  this  dis- 
crimination while  not  on  parade,  for  many  of 
the  privates  were,  in  social  life,  in  higher  standing 
than  the  majority  of  the  officers.  There  was  one 
of  our  colonels  who  took  his  brother  in  to  dine 
with  him  at  Shepheard's.  A  snobbish  English 
officer  came  up  to  this  man  who  happened  to  be 
only  a  private,  and  said:  "What  are  you  doing 
in  here,  my  man?"  But  he  got  rather  a  set- 
back when  the  Australian  colonel  said  to  him: 


PICKETING  IN  CAIRO  97 

"Captain,  let  me  introduce  my  brother."  There 
was  another  Australian  private  whom  an  English 
officer  objected  to  have  sitting  at  the  same  table 
with  him  at  the  Trocadero  in  London.  Next  day 
this  private  reserved  every  seat  in  this  swell 
restaurant  and  provided  dinner  for  several  hun- 
dred of  his  chums,  putting  a  notice  on  the  door: 
"No  Officers  Admitted."  Another  illustration 
of  snobbishness,  this  time  in  Australia,  was  when 
some  officers  at  a  race-meeting  instructed  the  com- 
mittee to  refuse  admittance  to  the  saddHng  pad- 
dock and  grand  stand  to  all  privates  and  N.  C.  O.'s, 
but  they  looked  pretty  small  when  informed  that 
the  owner  of  the  race-course  was  a  private  and 
could  hardly  be  debarred  from  his  own  property. 
Few  AustraUan  officers  are  of  this  type,  however, 
and  in  the  trenches  otir  officers  and  men  are  a 
happy  family.  When  the  men  reaHze  that  an 
officer  knows  his  job  and  has  plenty  of  pluck, 
they  will  follow  him  through  hell. 

A  favorite  rendezvous  in  Cairo  was  the  Ezbe- 
kiah  Gardens  of  a  Simday  afternoon.  There 
were  beauties  there  from  many  nations,  dressed 
in  the  "dernier  cri"  of  fashion,  who  were  tickled 
to  death  to  be  escorted  by  the  bronzed  giants 
from  "down-imder,"  and  though  one  failed  some- 
times to  find  words  that  were  understood,  yet 
sufficient  was  said  in  glance  and  shrug  to  make  a 
very  interesting  conversation.  And  the  Sultan's 
band  was  always  there  to  fill  in  pauses  and,  in 


98  "OVER  THERE 


»» 


fact,  played  so  well  as  to  be  an  encouragement  to 
flirtations  that  were  delightful  in  spite  of  differ- 
ences of  nationality. 

There  was  always  plenty  to  see  around  Cairo, 
and  the  education  of  the  Australian  bushman  has 
been  widened  considerably  through  those  months 
in  Egypt,  though  I  am  afraid  some  of  us  swallowed 
the  yarns  of  the  guides  and  garnered  a  vast  store 
of  misinformation.  These  guides  were  a  set  of 
blackmailers,  but  once  you  had  engaged  one  he 
looked  on  you  as  his  personal  property,  and  would 
let  no  one  rob  you  but  himself.  I  would  like, 
even  now,  to  have  within  reach  of  my  boot  the 
old  scoundrel  who  took  me  inside  the  Great 
Pyramid.  After  following  him  in  and  by  the 
light  of  a  candle  climbing  very  carefully  in  stock- 
inged feet  the  granite  passage  (polished  by  millions 
of  toes  until  it  was  as  slippery  as  glass),  the  old 
ruffian  led  me  into  the  Queen's  chamber,  and  then 
announced  that  he  had  lost  his  candle  but  would 
show  me  the  height  of  the  chamber  by  burning 
magnesian  wire  for  the  price  of  one  piastre  (five 
'  cents)  per  second.  After  I  had  a  good  flash-light 
view  of  the  inside  of  this  room,  and  marvelled 
sufficiently  at  the  enormous  size  of  the  blocks  of 
marble  in  the  walls  and  out  of  which  the  sar- 
cophagus was  made,  the  old  son  of  a  thief  told 
me  it  would  be  at  the  same  rate  that  he  would 
light  my  way  to  the  outside  air  again.  I  only 
had  stockinged  feet,  and  made  the  foolish  mistake 


PICKETING  IN  CAIRO  99 

of  striking  out  in  the  dark.  The  old  boy  howled, 
but  I  verily  believe  that  I  very  nearly  displaced 
one  of  the  eighty-ton  blocks  of  marble.  We  ar- 
rived at  the  opening  at  the  same  moment  and  I 
got  a  "full-Nelson"  on  the  greasy  blackguard. 
He  handed  over  the  magnesian  wire,  also  the  can- 
dle, and  was  quite  willing  to  give  me  as  many  of 
his  wives  as  I  required  before  I  released  him.  I 
have  never  been  in  any  place  as  hot  as  the  inside 
of  the  Great  Pyramid,  and  no  longer  wonder  that 
a  mummy  is  so  dried  up.  For  in  five  minutes 
pretty  nearly  every  drop  of  moistiure  in  my  own 
body  came  out  through  the  pores  of  my  skin. 

I  also  was  barmy  enough  to  climb  to  the  top 
of  the  Great  Pyramid;  each  separate  block  of 
stone  to  be  surmounted  was  like  the  wall  of  a 
house,  but  the  view  from  the  top  was  worth  while, 
and  might  have  been  enjoyed  but  for  the  thought 
of  getting  down  again;  especially  as  old  Job  (my 
new  guide)  persisted  in  telling  me  about  several 
people  who  had  been  killed,  bouncing  all  the  way 
to  the  bottom.  I  did  pretty  well  all  the  tourist 
stunts  in  Egypt.  I  rode  a  donkey  when  my  feet 
touched  the  ground  on  either  side,  also  mounted 
a  camel  that  lifted  me  to  a  dizzy  height.  I  gazed 
into  the  imperturbable  face  of  the  Sphinx  and 
wandered  among  the  numerous  pyramids  of  Sak- 
kara.  I  visited  the  tombs  of  the  Mamelukes 
and  feasted  on  the  beauty  of  the  mosques  (hav- 
ing my  feet  shod  with  the  provided  sandals  so 


lOO  "OVER  THERE 


>» 


that  my  infidel  dust  might  not  defame  the  hal- 
lowed floor).  I  also  viewed  the  citadel;  but  the 
place  of  most  charm  was  the  streets  of  old  Cairo. 
I  was  never  tired  of  elbowing  my  way  through  the 
bazaars  and  it  was  worth  it  to  buy  something 
you  didn't  want  for  the  sake  of  being  waited  on 
by  "Abraham  in  the  flesh."  Here  was  the 
Arabian  Nights  in  very  reality,  and  all  the  ro- 
mance and  lure  of  a  thousand  dreams.  The  smell 
was  a  bit  overpowering,  but  bearable  if  you  sur- 
rounded yourself  with  the  smell  of  your  favorite 
tobacco. 


CHAPTER  XI 
"NIPPER" 

On  the  sheep  and  cattle  station  of  Wyaga  in 
southwestern  Queensland  there  is  a  shepherd's 
hut  about  fifty  miles  from  the  homestead. 

One  night  my  father  was  camping  in  this  hut, 
and  before  lying  down  had  piled  a  lot  of  dry  dung 
on  the  fire  outside  so  that  the  smoke  would  drive 
away  the  mosquitoes.  Somewhere  about  mid- 
night he  woke  with  the  sense  of  some  human 
being  near  him.  Then  he  was  startled  to  see  the 
fire  scattered  before  his  eyes,  but  never  foimd 
sight  nor  sound  of  anything  living. 

Many  months  later  he  again  visited  the  hut. 
This  time  it  was  occupied  by  old  Mullins,  the 
shepherd.  Again  about  midnight  he  was  roused, 
this  time  by  the  whining  of  the  sheep-dog  "Nip- 
per." Every  hair  on  the  dog  was  bristHng,  but 
he  made  no  attempt  to  attack  whatever  it  was 
he  saw.  Suddenly  the  fire  was  again  scattered. 
The  old  shepherd  said  that  this  happened  about 
once  a  month,  and  that  on  one  occasion  he  had 
seen  a  woman  kick  the  fire  apart  and  then  dis- 
appear. 

To  the  railway-station  at  Goondiwindi  came 
Mullins  one  day  in  December,  1914,  and  bought 

lOI 


I02  "OVER  THERE'' 

tickets  to  Brisbane  for  himself  and  Nipper. 
The  regulations  of  the  Queensland  government 
railways  will  not  allow  dogs  to  travel  in  pas- 
sengers' carriages.  As  Nipper  had  to  travel  in 
a  dog-box  at  the  end  of  the  guard's  van,  old  Mul- 
lins  insisted  on  occupying  a  seat  in  the  van,  and 
at  every  station  would  get  his  friend  a  drink. 

When  the  train  stopped  for  meals  at  mid- 
day and  evening  Mullins  would  seize  the  plate 
served  to  him  and  make  for  the  door.  The  man- 
ager of  the  refreshment -room  made  him  pay  for 
the  plate  before  taking  it  outside,  not  trusting  his 
looks,  but  the  old  shepherd  only  wanted  to  have 
Nipper's  hunger  satisfied  before  his  own.  At  the 
end  of  the  journey  there  were  several  china  plates 
in  the  box  that  were  of  no  further  use  to  either 
of  them. 

The  recruiting-officer  in  Brisbane  was  not  sur- 
prised to  see  a  weather-beaten  old  "bushie"  walk 
into  the  depot,  for  there  were  many  such  seeking 
to  join  the  young  lads  in  "this  ding-dong  scrap." 
It  was  only  too  evident  that  he  was  well  over  the 
age  limit,  but  when  they  told  him  he  was  too  old, 
he  offered  to  fight  them  singly  or  collectively,  or 
take  on  the  best  fighter  their  blank-blank  army 
could  produce.  They  managed  to  get  him  out- 
side the  door,  but  not  before  both  he  and  Nipper 
had  left  behind  them  proof  of  their  quality  in  lost 
skin  and  torn  clothes. 

Some  days  later  old  Mullins  appeared  again, 


"  NIPPER  "  103 

leading  Nipper  on  a  chain.  Almost  every  one 
entrenched  himself  behind  a  table,  but  the  old 
man  had  no  fight  in  him,  declaring  in  a  chok- 
ing voice  that  Nipper  had  come  to  enlist  alone. 
"He  is  not  too  old,  anyway,  and  will  deal  with 
more  of  the  blank-blank  swine  than  a  hundred  of 
your  sissy,  white-faced,  un weaned  kids!"  One 
of  the  doctors  had  a  heart  in  the  right  place  and 
wrote  a  letter  to  the  commandant  of  a  regiment 
soon  going  overseas,  asking  him  if  he  could  not 
take  the  dog  as  a  regimental  pet.  He  gave  the 
old  man  the  letter  and  told  him  to  take  his  dog 
out  to  the  camp. 

The  colonel  was  not  without  understanding, 
and  that  is  how  Nipper  "joined  up"  to  fight  for 
democracy. 

There  were  some  who  started  out  to  teach 
Nipper  tricks,  but  it  was  soon  discovered  that 
he  knew  a  good  deal  more  than  most  of  us.  He 
had  a  keen  sense  of  humor,  and  after  some  one 
would  spend  hours  trying  to  teach  him  to  sit  up, 
aU  of  which  time  he  would  pretend  he  could  not 
understand  what  he  was  wanted  to  do,  with  a 
sly  look  he  would  suddenly  go  through  a  whole 
repertoire  of  tricks,  not  merely  sitting  up,  but 
tumbling  over  backward,  generally  ending  the 
performance  by  "heeling-up"  (nipping  in  the 
heel)  all  and  sundry.  He  never  really  bit  any  one, 
but  a  lot  of  the  new  boys  were  nervous  during 
this  heeling-up  process. 


I04  "OVER  THERE 


»» 


Nipper  was  certainly  the  most  intelligent  of 
the  whole  canine  race.  He  was  continually  try- 
ing out  new  tricks  for  our  amusement  and  was  in 
ecstasy  if  they  brought  applause.  On  a  shot 
being  fired  he  would  stretch  out  and  pretend  he 
was  killed,  but  if  you  said,  "White  Flag  !  Treach- 
ery !  "  he  would][come  to  life  again  as  savage  as  a 
wolf.  If  any  one  scolded  him  he  would  lie  down 
and  wipe  his  eyes  with  his  paw,  which  was  irre- 
sistible and  turned  the  scolding  voice  into  laughter. 

There  was  one  senior  officer  that  Nipper  sus- 
pected was  a  German,  and  every  chance  he  got 
he  would  sneak  up  and,  without  preliminary 
warning,  take  a  good  hold  of  the  seat  of  his  trous- 
ers. This  major  returned  Nipper's  dislike  with 
interest,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  protection 
of  the  colonel  Nipper's  career  might  have  been 
cut  short  before  we  left  Australia. 

Nipper  never  seemed  to  entertain  much  respect 
for  the  Army  Service  Corps,  and  sometimes  he 
would  attack  one  of  their  wagons  with  such  fury 
as  to  clear  the  men  off  it  and  start  the  horses 
bolting. 

These  were  his  dislikes,  but  his  one  and  only 
hate  was  a  military  policeman.  Perhaps  he  had 
a  guilty  conscience;  but  the  very  sight  of  a  red- 
cap would  make  him  foam  at  the  mouth,  and  they 
sent  in  several  requests  that  they  might  be  al- 
lowed to  shoot  him  for  their  own  protection.  The 
boys  in  camp  had  no  special  love  for  the  M.  P.'s 


**  NIPPER  "  105 

either,  and  there  was  very  nearly  a  pitched  battle 
when  Nipper  appeared  one  day  with  two  raw  welts 
across  his  back,  suspicion  being  immediately  laid 
at  their  door. 

Nipper  always  appeared  on  parade,  and  con- 
sidered his  position  to  be  the  right  flank  when  in 
line  and  right  ahead  of  everybody  when  in  column 
of  route.  If  motor-car  or  horse  vehicle  was  slow  in 
giving  way  to  us,  Nipper  informed  them  who  we 
were,  which  was  one  of  the  few  occasions  on  which 
he  was  heard  to  bark.  At  first  he  had  some  nar- 
row escapes,  but  soon  discovered  that  "heeling- 
up"  a  horse  or  the  rear  wheel  of  a  moving  auto- 
mobile was  more  risky  than  nipping  at  the  heels 
of  sheep  or  cow. 

Once  our  adjutant  had  an  argimient  with  the 
owner  of  an  automobile  for  breaking  through  our 
column.  Nipper  objected  to  a  certain  remark  of 
the  slacker  in  the  car,  and  without  joining  in 
the  conversation  leaped  into  the  car  and  dragged 
out  his  overcoat  into  the  mud,  not  reHnquishing 
it  until  it  was  well  soaked. 

On  board  the  troop-ship  Nipper  pined  for  the 
smell  of  the  gum  leaves,  and  it  was  the  only  time 
when  we  lost  patience  with  him,  for  every  night 
he  would  stand  in  the  bow  and  howl. 

The  smells  of  Egypt  disgusted  Nipper,  remem- 
bering the  scents  of  the  Australian  bush.  Only 
once  did  he  make  the  mistake  of  heeling-up  a 
Gyppo,  after  which  he  made  a  great  pretense  of 


io6  "OVER  THERE" 

being  very  sick.  On  other  occasions  when  he 
wanted  them  to  keep  their  distance,  he  found 
mere  growling  to  have  the  desired  effect. 

The  atmosphere  of  Egypt  had  a  bad  effect  on 
Nipper's  morals,  and  he  would  sometimes  disap- 
pear for  days.  After  a  while  the  old  reprobate 
acquired  the  disgusting  habit  of  eating  sand, 
which  not  only  showed  how  far  he  had  fallen  from 
grace,  but  also  had  a  serious  effect  on  his  health. 
On  several  occasions  he  had  to  be  taken  to  the 
army  medical  tent,  and  only  the  most  drastic 
remedies  saved  his  life. 

One  day  the  colonel  read  a  letter  he  had  received 
from  old  Mullins  inquiring  if  Nipper  was  still  alive 
and  reminding  us  that  his  meat  had  always  been 
cooked  for  him.  It  almost  made  one  believe  in 
reincarnation,  for  it  was  really  uncanny,  as  no 
human  being  could  more  contritely  express  re- 
morse than  did  Nipper  as  he  listened  with  tail 
between  his  legs,  whining  most  piteously. 

He  accompanied  me  on  some  scouting  expedi- 
tions in  the  desert,  but  his  powers  were  failing,  and 
I  never  trusted  him  after  one  occasion  on  which 
he  made  a  fool  of  me.  He  showed  all  the  symp- 
toms of  danger  being  near;  and  sure  enough  on 
looking  through  my  glasses  I  saw  what  appeared 
to  be  a  man  with  a  rifle  crouched  behind  a  bush. 
I  took  three  men  with  me  and  we  made  a  long 
detour  to  approach  from  behind,  but  after  all 
our  precautions  and  alarm  we  found  nothing  but 


"  NIPPER  "  107 

a  long  stick  leaning  against  the  bush  and  the 
shadow  of  a  rock  that  looked  something  like  a 
man. 

In  the  end  Nipper  committed  suicide,  and  this 
was  the  manner  of  his  going.  He  was  in  the  habit 
of  swimming  across  the  canal  every  morning  while 
we  were  at  Ferry  Post.  This  morning,  however, 
one  of  the  boys  noticed  him  go  under,  and  diving 
in  after  him  was  able,  after  some  difficulty,  to  get 
his  body  ashore.  He  was  quite  stiff  and  we  all 
of  us  believed  that  he  swam  out  a  certain  dis- 
tance and  gave  up. 

His  bearing  for  days  indicated  that  something 
was  preying  on  his  mind,  and  as  we  did  not  know 
what  cloud  overshadowed  his  canine  soul  we  for- 
bore to  judge  him. 

His  memory  will  remain  for  long  in  the  hearts 
of  those  who  knew  him,  and  we  buried  him  in  the 
burning  sand  of  Arabia  with  the  simple  inscrip- 
tion on  a  pine  board: 

Here  Lies 

"NIPPER" 

Died  on  Active  Service, 

A  TRUE  Comrade, — 

Sacrificed  to  "On,"  * 

No.  0000 — Regimental  Pet — 

— TH  Brigade — Heathen. 

*  The  Egyptian  sun-god. 


io8  "OVER  THERE" 

and  his  identification  disk  was  sent  home  to  old 
Mullins  and  maybe  hangs  in  the  old  hut  where, 
perhaps,  the  ghost  walks  no  more  and  the  ashes 
of  the  fire  smoulder  undisturbed. 


PART  in 
GALLIPOLI 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  ADVENTURE  OF  YOUTH 

Fate  has  decided  that  Gallipoli  shall  always  be 
associated  with  the  story  of  the  Anzacs.  This 
name  (which  is  formed  from  the  initial  letters  of 
the  Australian  ATew  Zealand  Army  Corps)  does 
not  describe  more  than  half  the  troops  that  were 
engaged  in  that  fated  campaign,  but  it  has  so 
caught  the  popular  fancy,  that  in  spite  of  all  his- 
torians may  do,  injustice  will  be  done  in  the 
thought  of  the  public  to  the  English,  Scotch,  and 
Irish  regiments  and  the  gallant  French  Colonial 
troops  who  played  an  equally  heroic  part.  There 
were  certainly  no  finer  troops  on  the  Peninsula — 
probably  in  the  whole  war  no  unit  has  shown 
greater  courage  than  did  the  glorious  Twenty- 
ninth  British  Division  in  the  landing  at  Cape 
Helles. 

No  writer  who  accurately  pictured  these  mem- 
orable months  of  oiu*  "treading  on  the  corns  of 
the  Turkish  Empire"  could  leave  out  even  the 
loyal  dark-skinned  Britishers  from  the  Hindustani 
hills  and  from  the  Ganges.  There  both  Gourkas 
and  Sikhs  added  to  their  reputation  as  fighters. 

AustraHa  and  New  Zealand's  part  does  not,  in 
actual  accompHshment  or  in  personal  daring  and 

III 


112  "OVER  THERE" 

endurance,  outclass  the  doings  of  these  others, 
the  larger  half  of  the  army.  But  there  is  a  ro- 
mance and  a  glow  about  the  "Anzac"  exploits 
that  (rail  at  the  injustice  of  it  as  you  may)  makes 
a  human-interest  story  that  will  elbow  out  of  the 
mind  of  the  "man  in  the  street"  what  other 
troops  did.  In  fact,  every  second  man  one  meets 
has  the  idea  that  the  Australians  and  New  Zea- 
landers  were  the  only  men  there. 

I  don't  intend  to  try  and  write  the  story  of 
GaUipoH — I  haven't  the  equipment  or  the  experi- 
ence— John  Masefield  has  written  the  only  book 
that  need  be  read,  and  only  a  man  who  was  in 
that  outstanding  achievement  of  the  landing  on 
the  25  th  of  April  has  a  right  to  the  honor  of  asso- 
ciating his  name  in  a  chronicle  of  "What  I  did!'' 
What  I  am  going  to  attempt  to  do  is  just  to  pic- 
ture it  as  a  "winning  of  the  spurs"  by  the  young- 
est democracy  on  earth. 

There  was  something  peculiarly  fitting  in  the 
fate  that  ordained  that  this  adolescent  nation  of  the 
South  Seas  should  prove  its  fitness  for  manhood 
in  an  adventure  upon  which  were  focussed  the 
eyes  of  all  nations.  The  gods  love  romance,  else 
why  was  the  youngest  nation  of  earth  tried  out 
on  the  oldest  battlefield  of  history  ?  How  those 
young  men  from  the  continent  whose  soil  had 
never  been  stained  with  blood  thrilled  to  hear 
their  padres  tell  them  as  they  gathered  on  the 
decks  of  the  troop-ships  in  the  harbor  of  Lemnos, 


THE  ADVENTURE  OF  YOUTH     113 

that  to-morrow  they  wotild  set  foot  aknost  on  the 
site  of  the  ancient  battlefield  of  Troy,  where  the 
early  Greeks  shed  their  blood,  as  sung  in  the 
oldest  battle-song  in  the  world. 

These  young  Australians  were  eager  to  prove 
their  country's  worth  as  a  breeder  of  men.  Aus- 
tralians have  been  very  sensitive  to  the  criticism 
of  Old  World  visitors — that  we  were  a  pleasure- 
loving  people,  who  only  thought  of  sport — that 
in  our  country  no  one  took  life  seriously,  and 
even  the  making  of  money  was  secondary  to  foot- 
ball, and  that  we  would  all  rather  win  a  hundred 
pounds  on  a  horse-race  than  make  a  thousand  by 
personal  exertion.  Practically  every  book  written 
on  Australia  by  an  Englishman  or  an  American 
has  said  the  same  thing,  that  we  were  a  lovable, 
easy-going  race,  but  did  not  work  very  hard,  and 
in  a  serious  crisis  would  be  found  wanting. 

The  whole  nation  brooded  over  these  young 
men,  guardians  of  Australia's  honor,  and  waited 
anxiously  for  them  to  wipe  out  this  slur.  That 
explains  AustraUa's  pride  in  "Anzac."  It  meant 
for  us  not  merely  our  baptism  in  blood — it  was 
more  even  than  a  victory — for  there,  with  the 
fierce  search-light  of  every  nation  turned  upon  it, 
our  representative  manhood  showed  no  faltering 
— but  proved  it  was  of  the  true  British  breed, 
having  nevertheless  a  bearing  in  battle  that  was 
uniquely  its  own.  In  this  age  of  bravest  men  the 
Australian  has  an   abandon  in  fight   which   on 


114  "OVER  THERE" 

every  battlefield  marks  him  as  different  from  any- 
other  soldier. 

There  is  an  insidious  German  propaganda  sug- 
gesting that  the  Australians  are  very  sore  at  the 
failure  on  Gallipoli  and  that  we  blame  the  British 
Government  and  staff  for  having  sent  us  to  perish 
in  an  impossible  task.  T  want  to  say,  that  while 
in  the  Australian  army,  as  private,  N.  C.  O.  and 
officer,  I  never  heard  a  single  criticism  of  the 
government  for  the  Gallipoli  business.  There  is 
no  man  who  was  on  the  Peninsula  who  does  not 
admire  General  Sir  Ian  Hamilton,  and  most  of  the 
officers  believe  that  Britain  has  never  produced 
a  more  brilliant  general.  That  the  expedition 
failed  was  not  the  fault  of  the  commander-in- 
chief  nor  of  the  troops.  And,  anyway,  we  Aus- 
tralians are  good  enough  sports  to  realize  that 
there  must  be  blunders  here  and  there,  and  we're 
quite  ready  to  bear  our  share  of  the  occasional 
inevitable  disaster. 

But  Gallipoli  was  not  the  failure  many  people 
think.  Some  people  seem  to  have  the  idea  that  a 
hundred  thousand  troops  were  intended  to  beat  a 
couple  of  million,  and  take  one  of  the  strongest 
cities  in  the  world.  There  never  was  a  time 
when  the  Turks  did  not  outnumber  us  five  to 
one,  when  they  did  not  have  an  enormous  re- 
serve, in  men,  equipment,  and  munitions,  imme- 
diately at  their  back,  while  our  base  was  five 
himdred  miles  away  in  Egypt.     The  Turks  had 


THE  ADVENTURE  OF  YOUTH      115 

a  Krupp  factory  at  Constantinople  within  a 
few  hours  of  them,  turning  out  more  ammuni- 
tion per  day  than  they  were  using,  while  ours 
had  to  come  thousands  of  miles  from  England. 
Of  course,  we  were  never  intended  to  take  Con- 
stantinople. The  expedition  was  a  purely  naval 
one,  and  we  were  a  small  military  force,  auxiliary 
to  the  navy,  that  was  to  seize  the  Narrows  and 
enable  the  ships  to  get  within  range  of  Constan- 
tinople, and  so  compel  its  surrender.  We  failed 
in  this  final  objective,  but  we  accomplished  a 
great  deal,  nevertheless.  We  held  back  probably 
a  million  Turks  from  the  Russians,  and  we  left, 
in  actual  counted  dead  Turkish  bodies,  more  than 
double  our  own  casualties  (killed,  wounded,  and 
missing).  But,  above  all,  we  definitely  impressed 
the  German  mind  with  the  fact  that  Great  Britain 
did  not  only  mean  the  British  Isles  but  the  equally 
loyal  and  brave  fighters  from  Britain  overseas. 

Here  is  no  history  of  GalHpoli,  but  let  me  try 
to  sketch  four  pictures  that  will  show  you  the 
type  of  men  that  there  joked  with  death  and 
made  curses  sound  to  angel  ears  sweeter  than  the 
hymns  of  the  soft-souled  churchgoer. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE   LANDING   THAT   COULD   NOT   SUCCEED 

—BUT  DID 

Picture  yourself  on  a  ship  that  was  more 
crowded  with  men  than  ever  ship  had  been  be- 
fore, in  a  harbor  more  crowded  with  ships  than 
ever  harbor  had  been  crowded  before,  with  more 
fears  in  your  mind  than  had  ever  crowded  into  it 
before,  knowing  that  in  a  few  hours  you  would 
see  battle  for  the  first  time.  Having  comrades 
crowding  round,  bidding  you  good-bye  and  in- 
forming you  that  as  your  regimental  number 
added  up  to  thirteen,  you  would  be  the  first  to 
die,  remembering  that  you  hadn't  said  your  pray- 
ers for  years,  and  then  comforting  yourself  with 
the  realization  that  what  is  going  to  happen  will 
happen,  and  that  an  appeal  to  the  general  will  not 
stop  the  battle,  anyway,  and  you  may  as  well 
die  like  a  man,  and  you  will  feel  as  did  many  of 
those  yoimg  lads,  on  the  eve  of  the  25th  of  April, 
191 5.  There  was  some  premonition  of  death  in 
those  congregations  of  khaki-clad  men  who  gath- 
ered round  the  padres  on  each  ship  and  sang 
"God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again."  You 
could  see  in  men's  faces  that  they  knew  they  were 

"going  west"  on  the  morrow — ^but  it  was  a  swan- 

116 


THE  LANDING  117 

song  that  could  not  paralyze  the  arm  or  daunt  the 
heart  of  these  young  Greathearts,  who  intended 
that  on  this  morrow  they  would  do  deeds  that 
would  make  their  mothers  proud  of  them. 

"  For  if  you  'as  to  die, 
As  it  sometimes  'appens,  why, 
Far  better  die  a  'ero  than  a  skunk; 
A'  doin'  of  yer  bit."  * 

As  soon  as  church-parade  was  dismissed,  an- 
other song  was  on  the  boards,  no  hymn,  maybe 
not  fine  poetry,  but  the  song  that  will  be  always 
associated  with  the  story  of  Australia's  doings  in 
the  great  war,  Australia's  battle-song — "Australia 
Will  Be  There" — immortalized  on  the  Southland 
and  Ballarat,  as  it  was  sung  by  the  soldiers 
thereon,  when  they  stood  in  the  sea-water  that 
was  covering  the  decks  of  those  torpedoed 
troop-ships.  It  was  now  sung  by  every  AustraHan 
voice,  and  as  those  crowded  troop-ships  moved 
out  from  Lemnos  they  truly  carried  "Australia," 
eager,  untried  Australia — ^where  ? 

The  next  day  showed  to  the  world  that  "Aus- 
tralia would  always  be  there  T'  where  the  fight 
raged  thickest.  Her  sons  might  sometimes  pene- 
trate the  enemy's  territory  too  far,  but  hereafter, 
and  till  the  war's  end,  they  would  always  be  in  the 
front  line,  storming  with  the  foremost  for  free- 
dom and  democracy. 

*  Robert  W.  Service. 


Ii8  "OVER  THERE 


»» 


The  landing  could  not  possibly  be  a  surprise 
to  the  Turks;  the  British  and  French  warships 
had  advertised  our  coming  by  a  preliminary  bom- 
bardment weeks  previously — the  Greeks  knew 
all  about  our  concentration  in  their  waters — and 
wasn't  the  Queen  of  Greece  sister  to  the  Kaiser? 

There  were  only  about  two  places  where  we 
could  possibly  land,  and  the  Turks  were  not  merely 
warned  of  our  intentions,  but  they  were  warned  in 
plenty  of  time  for  them  to  prepare  for  us  a  warm 
reception.  The  schooling  and  method  of  the  Ger- 
mans had  imited  with  the  ingenuity  of  the  Tiurks 
to  make  those  beaches  the  unhealthiest  spots  on 
the  globe.  The  Germans  plainly  believed  that  a 
landing  was  impossible. 

Think  of  those  beaches,  with  land  and  sea 
mines,  densely  strewn  with  barbed  wire  (even 
into  deep  water),  with  machine-guns  arranged 
so  that  every  yard  of  sand  and  water  would  be 
swept,  by  direct,  indirect,  and  cross  fire,  with 
a  hose-like  stream  of  bullets;  think  of  thousands 
of  field-pieces  and  howitzers  ready,  ranged,  and 
set,  so  that  they  would  spray  the  sand  and  whip 
the  sea,  merely  by  the  pulling  of  triggers.  Think 
of  a  force  larger  than  the  intended  landing-party 
entrenched,  with  their  rifles  loaded  and  their 
range  known,  behind  all  manner  of  overhead 
cover  and  wire  entanglements,  and  then  remem- 
ber that  you  are  one  of  a  party  that  has  to  step 
ashore  there  from  an  open  boat,  and  kill,  or  drive 


o 

> 

o 
U 

u 

ni 
N 

C 
< 


THE  LANDING  119 

far  enough  inland,  these  enemy  soldiers  to  en- 
able your  stores  to  be  landed  so  that  when  you 
have  defeated  him,  you  may  not  perish  of  starva- 
tion. Far  more  than  at  Balaclava  did  these 
young  men  from  "down  imder"  walk  "right  into 
the  jaws  of  death,  into  the  mouth  of  hell!" 
And  the  Turks  waited  till  they  were  well  within 
the  jaws  before  they  opened  fire.  No  one  in 
the  landing  force  knew  where  the  Turks  were, 
and  the  Turks  did  not  fire  on  us  iintil  we  got  to 
the  zone  which  they  had  so  prepared  that  all 
might  perish  that  entered  there.  They  could  see 
us  clearly,  the  crowded  open  boats  were  targets 
of  naked  flesh  that  could  not  be  missed.  Was 
there  ever  a  more  favorable  setting  for  a  massacre  ? 
The  Turks  in  burning  Armenian  villages  with 
their  women  and  children  had  not  easier  tasks 
than  that  entrenched  army.  Our  men  in  the 
boats  were  too  crowded  to  use  their  rifles,  and  the 
boats  were  too  close  in  for  the  supporting  war- 
ships to  keep  down  the  fire  from  those  trenches. 
How  was  any  one  left  alive  ?  By  calculation  of  the 
odds  not  one  man  should  have  set  foot  on  that 
shore.  Make  a  successful  landing,  enabHng  us  to 
occupy  a  portion  of  that  soil !  What  an  impossi- 
ble task! 

To  the  men  in  those  boats  and  the  men  watching 
from  the  ships,  it  appeared  as  if  not  merely  the 
expedition  had  failed,  but  that  not  a  man  of  the 
landing  force  would  survive.     Boats  were  riddled 


I20  "OVER  THERE" 

with  bullets  and  sunk — other  boats  drifted  help- 
lessly as  there  were  not  enough  alive  to  row  them — 
men  jumped  into  the  bullet-formed  spray  to  swim 
ashore  but  were  caught  in  the  barbed  wire  and 
drowned.  Who  could  expect  success,  but  it  nev- 
ertheless happened!  The  Turks  were  sure  that 
we  could  not  land,  yet  we  did.  Not  only  did  those 
boys  set  foot  on  those  beaches,  but  the  remnant 
of  that  landing-party  drove  the  Turks  out  of  their 
entrenchments  up  cliffs  five  hundred  feet  high, 
and  entrenched  themselves  on  the  summit.  How 
did  they  do  it?  No  one  knows;  the  men  who  were 
there  don't  know  themselves.  Did  heaven  inter- 
vene? Perhaps  spiritual  forces  may  sometimes 
paralyze  material.  It  must  be  that  right  has 
physical  might,  else  why  didn't  the  Kaiser  get  to 
Paris?  Mathematics  and  preparedness  were  on 
his  side;  by  all  reasoning  Germany  ought  to  have 
overwhelmed  the  world  in  a  few  months,  with 
the  superiority  of  her  armament,  but  she  didn't. 
The  Turks  ought  to  have  kept  us  off  the  Peninsula, 
by  all  laws  of  logic  and  arithmetic,  and  they 
didn't.  I  really  think  the  landing  succeeded  be- 
cause those  boys  thought  they  had  failed. 

They  must  have  believed  themselves  doomed — 
they  could  see  that  there  were  too  few  to  accom- 
plish what  was  even  doubtful  when  the  force  was 
intact.  When  they  were  on  the  shore  they  must 
have  felt  that  it  was  impossible  that  they  could 
be  taken  off  again.  All  the  time  more  were  fall- 
ing, and  soon  it  seemed  that  every  last  man  must 


THE  LANDING  I2I 

be  massacred.  They  made  up  their  minds  that, 
at  any  rate,  they  would  get  a  few  of  the  swine 
before  they  went.  Every  man  beheved  that  in 
the  end  he  must  be  killed,  but  determined  to  sell 
his  life  as  dearly  as  possible,  and  that  made  them 
the  supermen  that  could  not  be  "held  back." 
A  whole  platoon  would  be  cut  down,  but  some- 
how one  or  two  woiild  manage  to  get  into  the 
trench,  where,  of  necessity,  it  was  hand-to-hand 
work,  and  with  laughing  disregard  of  the  odds 
would  lay  out  a  score  of  the  enemy  and  send  the 
others  fleeing  before  them,  who  would  yell  out  that 
they  were  fighting  demons  from  hell.  After  the 
confusion  in  the  boats,  and  from  the  fact  that  in 
most  cases  companies  were  entirely  without  offi- 
cers, there  was  no  forming  up  for  charges — indeed, 
there  were  no  orders  at  all,  but  every  man  knew 
that  he  could  not  but  be  doing  the  right  thing 
every  time  he  killed  a  Turk,  so  they  just  took 
their  rifle  and  bayonet  in  their  naked  hands  and 
went  to  it.  There  was  no  line  of  battle,  it  was 
just  here,  there,  and  everywhere,  khaki-clad, 
laughing  demons,  seeking  Turks  to  kill. 

Never  was  there  fighting  like  this.  All  that  day 
it  went  on.  On  the  beach,  up  the  cliff,  in  the 
gullies,  miles  inland  were  men  fighting.  It  was  not 
a  battle;  it  would  have  made  a  master  of  tactics 
weep  and  tear  his  hair,  but  these  man-to-man 
fights  kept  on.  Many  were  shot  from  behind, 
many  were  woimded  and  fell  in  places  where  no 
one  would  find  them — some,  fighting  on,  went  in 


122  "OVER  THERE 


»» 


a  circle  and  found  themselves  back  on  the  beach 
again.  However,  at  nightfall  some  had  begun  to 
dig  a  shallow  line  of  trenches,  well  inland  across 
the  cliff.  Single  men  and  small  groups  of  them, 
not  finding  any  more  Turks  where  they  were, 
fell  back  into  this  ditch  and  helped  deepen  it. 

Fresh  Turks  were  massing  for  counter-attack, 
and  soon  came  on  with  fury,  but  we  were  some- 
thing like  an  army  now,  and  although  the  line 
had  to  be  shortened  it  never  broke.  The  landing 
had  been  made  good,  the  impossible  had  been 
achieved.  But  there  were  many  who  died  strange 
deaths,  many  left  way  in,  helpless,  who  could  not 
be  succored — many  whom  the  fighting  lust  led 
so  far  that  when  they  thought  of  seeking  their 
comrades  they  found  the  barrier  of  a  Turkish 
army  now  intervening.  Strange,  unknown  duels 
and  combats  were  fought  that  day.  Unknown 
are  the  "Bill- Jims"  who  killed  scores  with  naked 
hand — there  were  many  such.  Though  we  beat 
the  Turk  with  the  odds  in  his  favor,  yet  this  day 
and  afterward  he  earned  our  respect  as  a  fighting 
man. 

"East  is  East  and  West  is  West,  and  never  the  twain  shall 
meet 

Till  Earth  and  Sky  stand  presently  at  God's  great  Judg- 
ment Seat. 

But  there  is  neither  East  nor  West,  Border,  nor  Breed,  nor 
Birth, 

When  two  strong  men  stand  face  to  face,  tho'  they  come 
from  the  ends  of  the  Earth." 


THE  LANDING  123 

The  Australian  had  proved  himself  the  fiercest 
fighter  of  the  world.  ...  As  one  naval  officer  re- 
marked, they  fought  not  as  men  but  devils.  Many- 
have  said  that  much  of  the  loss  of  life  was  need- 
less, that  had  the  Australians  kept  together  and 
waited  for  orders  not  so  many  would  have  been 
cut  off  in  the  bush.  It  was  true  that  the  im- 
petuosity of  many  took  them  too  far  to  return, 
but  it  was  that  very  quality  that  won  the  day. 
They  did  not  return,  but  they  drove  the  Turk  be- 
fore them  and  enabled  others  to  dig  in  before  he 
could  re-form.  You  would  have  to  go  back  to 
mediaeval  times  to  parallel  this  fighting.  There 
were  impetuosity,  dash,  initiative,  berserker  rage, 
fierce  hand-to-hand  fighting,  every  man  his  own 
general. 

These  were  not  the  only  qualities  of  the  Aus- 
tralian fighting  men,  but  these  alone  could  have 
succeeded  on  that  day.  When  the  time  came  for 
evacuation  of  those  hardly  won  and  held  trenches, 
these  same  troops  gave  evidence  of  the  posses- 
sion of  the  opposite  attributes  of  coolness,  silence, 
patience,  co-ordination ;  every  man  acting  as  part 
of  a  single  unit,  under  control  of  a  single  will — 
which  is  discipline ! 


CHAPTER  XIV 
HOLDING  ON  AND  NIBBLING 

There  are  people  who  think  that  the  Australian 
dash  petered  out  with  that  one  supreme  effort  of 
landing.  We  had  achieved  the  impossible  in 
landing — why  did  we  not  in  the  many  months 
we  were  there,  do  the  comparatively  easy  thing 
and  advance?  Surely,  now  that  we  had  stores 
and  equipment  and  artillery,  we  could  more 
easily  drive  the  Turks  out  of  their  trenches. 
So  many  seem  to  think  that  so  much  was  done 
on  that  first  day,  and  so  little  thereafter. 

But  the  Peninsula  is  not  a  story  of  mere  impetu- 
osity and  dash,  it  is  a  story  of  endurance  as  well. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  those  eight  months  of  holding 
on  were  as  great  a  miracle  as  the  landing.  There 
is  a  limit  to  the  physical  powers  even  of  supermen. 
These  men  were  not  content  with  the  small  strip 
of  ground  that  they  held,  and  they  did  attack  and 
defeat  the  Turks  opposing  them  again  and  again, 
but  as  soon  as  a  Turkish  army  was  beaten  there 
was  ever  another  fresh  one  to  take  its  place.  The 
Turks  could  not  attack  us  at  one  time  with  an 
army  outntimbering  us  by  ten  to  one,  not  because 
they  had  not  the  troops,  but  because  there  was 
not  room  enough.    As  a  matter  of  fact,  that  little 

124 


HOLDING  ON  AND  NIBBLING     125 

army  (only  reinforced  enough  to  fill  up  the  gaps) 
defeated  five  Turkish  armies,  each  one  larger  than 
its  own.  Remember,  too,  that  the  Turks  were 
always  better  equipped  and  supplied — it  was  so 
easy  with  their  chief  city  of  Constantinople  just 
within  "coo-ee."  Our  little  army  had  to  be  sup- 
plied with  every  single  thing  over  thousands  of 
miles  of  water.  General  Hamilton  said  the  navy 
was  father  and  mother  to  us,  and  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  every  cartridge,  every  ounce  of  food, 
every  drop  of  water,  everj'-  splinter  of  firewood 
had  to  be  brought  by  the  ships,  it  will  be  seen  that 
we  could  not  have  existed  a  single  day  without 
their  aid.  The  Turks  said  often  enough  that 
they  would  push  us  into  the  sea — they  continually 
called  on  Allah  to  aid  them — we  were  only  a 
handful  after  all;  we  only  held  a  few  himdred 
acres  of  their  filthy  soil,  but  onto  that  we  clung, 
sometimes  by  the  skin  of  our  teeth.  And  it  was 
the  weather,  not  the  Turks,  that  made  us  leave  in 
the  end. 

Ever  and  anon  we  alarmed  the  Turk  by  nib- 
bling a  piece  nearer  to  his  sacred  city.  Never 
did  men  live  imder  worse  conditions  than  in 
those  eight  months  of  hell,  yet  never  was  an 
army  so  cheerful.  "  Bill-Jim, ' '  which  is  AustraHa's 
name  for  her  soldier-boy,  always  makes  the  best 
of  things,  and  soon  made  himself  at  home  on 
that  inhospitable  shore. 

The  first  thing  he  decided  needed  alteration 


126  "OVER  THERE" 

was  his  uniform.  Breeches  and  puttees  were  not 
only  too  hot  but  they  closed  in  the  leg  and  af- 
forded cover  to  the  lively  little  fellow  who  lives 
indiscriminately  on  the  soldiers  of  both  sides. 
As  each  soldier  began  to  trim  his  uniform  to  his 
own  idea  of  comfort,  it  was  soon,  in  very  reality, 
a  "ragtime"  army.  Some  felt  that  puttees  were 
a  nuisance — everybody  realized  that  the  breeches 
were  too  long,  but  differed  on  the  point  as  to 
how  much  too  long.  Some  would  clip  off  six 
inches  from  the  end,  others  a  foot,  and  others 
would  have  been  as  well  covered  without  the 
article  at  all.  Almost  everybody  decided  that 
a  tunic  was  useless,  but  some  extremists  threw 
away  shirt  and  singlet  as  well.  A  Turkish  army 
order  was  captured  which  stated  that  the  Aus- 
traHans  were  running  short  of  supplies,  as  they 
made  one  pair  of  trousers  do  for  three  men. 
Evidently  Johnny  Turk  could  not  understand 
the  Australian  disregard  for  conventionality  and 
his  taking  to  nakedness  when  it  meant  comfort 
and  there  were  no  women  within  hundreds  of 
miles  to  make  him  conscious  of  indecency. 
Clothes  that  cotddn't  be  washed  wouldn't  keep 
one's  body  clean  and  became  the  home  of  an 
army  that  had  no  interest  in  the  fight  for  de- 
mocracy. The  Australian  showed  his  practical 
common  sense  in  discarding  as  much  as  possible — 
but,  say,  those  boys  would  have  caused  some 
amusement  if  drawn  up  for  review  I 


HOLDING  ON  AND  NIBBLING     127 

Water  was  certainly  the  most  precious  thing. 
There  never  was  enough  to  drink,  but  even  then 
there  are  always  men  who  would  rather  wash  than 
drink,  and  to  see  these  men  having  their  bath  in 
a  jam-tin  just  showed  how  habit  is,  in  many  of  us, 
stronger  than  common  sense,  for  there  was  never 
water  enough  to  more  than  spread  out  the  dirt  or 
liquify  it  so  that  it  would  fill  up  the  pores.  Others 
who  must  bathe  adopted  a  more  effective  but  more 
dangerous  proceeding.  Of  course,  the  sea  was 
there — surely  plenty  of  water  for  washing !  Just 
so,  but  this  bath  was  pretty  unhealthy,  for  it  was 
practically  always  whipped  by  shrapnel  and 
you  went  in  at  the  risk  of  your  life.  Some  of  the 
best  swimmers  used  to  say  it  was  all  right  so 
long  as  you  dived  whenever  you  heard  the  screech 
of  a  shell — that  the  shrapnel  pellets  did  not  pene- 
trate the  water  more  than  a  few  inches.  Most 
men  did  without  either  of  this  choice  of  baths, 
and  used  a  scraper.  It  was  evidenced  on  the 
Peninsula  that  one  of  the  greatest  of  civilizers  is 
a  razor.  By  necessity  few  could  shave,  and  you 
soon  could  not  recognize  the  face  of  your  best 
chum  as  it  hid  itself  beneath  a  growth  of  some 
reddish  fungus.  Really  handsome  features  were 
quite  blotted  out,  and  it  is  now  evident  to  me 
why,  in  civiHzed  life,  we  all  so  gladly  go  through 
the  conventional  daily  torture  of  face-scraping. 

Thirst  is  not  a  thing  to  joke  about,  however, 
and  there  were  times  when  the  allowance  of  water 


128  "OVER  THERE 


»» 


was  not  enough  to  wash  down  a  half-dozen  bites, 
and  the  food  would  stick  in  one's  throat. 

There  was  generally  enough  Jood  but  mighty 
little  variety  except  just  before  the  evacuation 
when  stores  had  to  be  eaten  to  save  them  being 
taken  away  or  destroyed.  It  is  all  very  well  to 
say  a  man  will  eat  anything  when  he  is  hungry, 
but  you  can  get  so  tired  of  bully-beef  and  biscuits 
and  marmalade- jam  that  your  stomach  simply 
will  not  digest  it.  Machonochie's,  which  was  a 
sort  of  canned  Irish  stew,  wasn't  bad,  but  there 
wasn't  always  more  than  enough  of  that  to  sup- 
ply the  quartermasters.  Still  there  were  some 
great  chefs  on  the  Peninsula,  men  who  had  got 
their  training  as  cooks  in  shearers'  camps,  where 
anything  badly  cooked  would  be  thrown  at  their 
heads.  It  was  marvellous  how  some  of  them  could 
disguise  a  bully-beef  stew,  and  I  have  been  told 
of  men  coming  to  blows  over  the  merits  of  their 
respective  "company  cooks." 

There  were  more  flies  on  the  Peninsula  than 
there  was  sand  on  the  shore,  and  they  fought  us 
persistently  for  every  atom  of  food.  Getting  a 
meal  was  a  hard  day's  work,  for  all  the  time  you 
had  to  fight  away  the  swarms,  and  no  matter  how 
quick  you  were  with  your  fork,  you  rarely  got  a 
mouthful  that  hadn't  been  well  walked  over,  and 
it  didn't  do  to  think  where  those  flies  might  have 
been  walking  just  previously.  No  army  ever  had 
a  better  directed  sanitary  department,  but,  no 


HOLDING  ON  AND  NIBBLING     129 

matter  how  clean  we  kept  our  trenches,  the  Turks 
just  "loved"  dirt  and  "worshipped"  flies,  and 
their  trenches  were  only  ten  yards  away  in  one 
place,  and  in  no  place  were  they  far  enough  to 
make  it  a  record-breaking  aerial  flight  for  a  fly. 
Perhaps  it  was  because  they  were  all  Turkish- 
bred  that  the  flies  did  us  so  much  harm,  for  they 
certainly  accounted  for  more  deaths  than  the  shells 
or  bullets.  Dysentery  was  rife  all  the  time  and 
there  were  times  when  not  one  man  was  well. 
If  the  doctors  had  known  enough  they  would 
have  put"  a  barrage  of  disinfectant  in  front  of  our 
trenches.  We  put  up  sandbags  to  stop  the  bullets, 
but  no  one  had  devised  a  method  to  stop  those 
winged  emissaries  of  death.  Those  who  died 
from  lead-poisoning  were  but  a  score  to  the  hun- 
dreds who  died  of  fly-poisoning. 

This  is  but  a  Httle  of  what  holding  on  meant  to 
that  little  force.  The  Turk  was  not  only  a  brave, 
but  a  "wily"  fighter — snipers  were  always  giv- 
ing trouble,  and  one  never  knew  from  which  di- 
rection the  next  shot  was  coming.  Men  with 
"nerves"  declared  that  oiu*  line  must  be  full  of 
spies — sometimes  a  shot  would  come  through  the 
door  of  a  dugout  facing  out  to  sea.  These  snipers 
were  certainly  brave  fellows — some  were  foimd 
covered  with  leaves — one  was  found  in  a  cleft  in 
the  rock  where  he  must  have  been  lowered  by  his 
comrades  and  he  could  not  get  out  without  their 
help.     In    the   early    days    some   of    the  Turk- 


I30  "OVER  THERE" 

ish  officers  who  could  talk  English  even  took 
the  extreme  risk  of  mixing  among  the  troops  and 
passing  false  orders.  One  of  these  spies  was  only- 
discovered  through  misuse  of  a  well-known  Aus- 
tralian slang-word.  No  one  in  the  Australian 
army  but  knows  the  meaning  of  "dinkum."  Its 
meaning  is  something  the  same  as  the  American 
"on  the  level!"  and  is  probably  the  commonest 
word  in  the  Australian  soldier's  vocabiilary.  He 
will  ask:  "Is  that  dinktmi  news?"  State  that, 
"He's  a  dinkum  fellow!"  and  so  on.  Well,  one 
day  a  man  in  an  Australian  officer's  uniform 
spoke  to  some  officers  in  a  certain  sector  of 
trench,  and  said  he  brought  a  message  from  head- 
quarters. He  was  getting  a  lot  of  information 
and  seemed  to  know  several  officers'  names,  but 
he  bungled  over  one  of  them,  and  on  the  officer 
he  was  speaking  to  inquiring,  "Is  that  dinkum?" 
he  answered:  "Yes,  that's  his  name!"  There 
was  no  further  investigation,  he  was  shot  dead 
on  the  spot.  The  officer  who  did  it  may  have  been 
hasty,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  justice  was 
done,  for  he  must  have  been  either  a  Turk  or  a 
German  and  had  already  foimd  out  too  much. 


CHAPTER  XV 
THE  EVACUATION 

Without  warning,  winter  came  down  upon  us. 
No  one  guessed  he  was  so  near.  We  were  still 
in  our  summer  lack  of  clothing,  and  were  not 
prepared  for  cold  weather,  when  like  a  wolf  on 
the  fold  the  blizzard  came  down  upon  us.  This 
was  the  worst  enemy  those  battered  troops  had 
yet  encountered.  Hardly  any  of  those  boys  had 
ever  seen  snow  and  now  they  were  naked  in  the 
bitterest  cold.  There  were  more  cases  of  frost- 
bite than  there  were  of  wounds  in  the  whole 
campaign.  More  had  their  toes  and  fingers  eaten 
off  by  Jack  Frost  than  shells  had  amputated. 
In  those  open,  unprotected  trenches,  in  misery 
such  as  they  had  never  dreamed  could  be,  the 
lads  from  sunny  Australia  stood  to  their  posts. 
When  the  snow  melted  the  trenches  fell  in  and 
Turk  and  Anzac  stood  exposed  to  each  other's 
fire,  but  both  were  fighting  a  common  enemy  and 
so  hard  went  this  battle  with  them  as  to  com- 
pel a  truce  in  the  fight  of  man  against  man. 

Soon  it  was  evident  that  our  final  objective  of 
capturing  the  Narrows  could  not  be  accomplished 
with  the  forces  we  had.  Directly  the  winter  gales 
would  arrive  and  on  those  exposed  beaches  no 

131 


132  "OVER  THERE" 

stores  could  be  landed.  We  had  to  leave  and  leave 
quickly,  or  starve  to  death.  So  the  evacuation 
was  planned. 

No  achievement  in  military  history  was  better 
conceived  or  more  faithfully  carried  out.  Here 
was  scope  for  inventive  genius  and  many  were  the 
devices  used  to  bluff  the  Turk.  We  schooled  him 
in  getting  used  to  long  periods  of  silence.  At  first 
he  was  pretty  jumpy  and  could  not  imderstand 
the  change,  when  the  men  who  had  always  given 
him  two  for  one  now  received  his  fire  without 
retaliating.  After  a  while  he  decided  that  as  we 
were  quite  mad  there  was  no  accoimting  for  our 
behavior.  Then  we  scared  him  some  more  by 
appearing  to  land  fresh  troops.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  a  thousand  or  so  would  leave  the  beach  at 
night  and  a  few  hundred  return  in  the  daylight 
imder  the  eyes  of  the  Turkish  aeroplanes,  causing 
them  to  report  concentration  of  more  troops. 
Stores  were  taken  out  to  the  ships  by  night,  and 
the  empty  boxes  brought  back  and  stacked  on  the 
beaches  during  the  day.  It  must  have  appeared 
as  if  we  were  laying  in  for  the  winter. 

There  were  many  inventive  brains  of  high  qual- 
ity working  at  great  pressure  during  all  the  days 
of  holding  on,  but  one  of  the  cleverest  ideas  put 
into  operation  was  the  arrangement  devised  by  an 
engineer  whereby  rifles  were  firing  automatically 
in  the  front-line  trenches  after  every  man  had 
left.     There  is  no  doubt  the  Turks  were  com- 


THE  EVACUATION  133 

pletely  bluffed.  When  the  remaining  stores  were 
fired  after  being  well  soaked  with  gasolene,  the 
Turkish  artillery  evidently  thought  they  had  made 
a  lucky  hit  and  they  poured  shells  into  the  flames 
and  completed  for  us  the  work  of  destruction. 
I  doubt  if  they  even  found  the  name  of  a  Chicago 
packing-house  on  a  bully-beef  case,  when  next 
day  they  wandered  curiously  through  the  aban- 
doned settlement  that  for  many  months  had  been 
peopled  by  the  bronzed  giants  from  farthest  south. 

The  last  men  to  leave  the  actual  trenches  were 
the  remnant  of  the  heroic  band  that  were  the  first 
to  land.  They  requested  the  honor  of  this  post 
of  danger  and  it  could  not  be  refused  them.  They 
must  have  expected  that  their  small  company 
would  be  still  further  thinned;  but  this  place  of 
miracles  still  had  another  in  store,  as  the  evacua- 
tion was  accomplished  from  Anzac  itself  without 
a  casualty. 

The  last  party  to  leave  the  beach  was  a  hospital 
imit — chaplain,  doctors,  and  orderlies.  It  was  in- 
tended that  they  should  remain  to  care  for  the 
wounded,  though  they  would  necessarily  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  Turks.  It  was  not  feared  that 
they  would  be  ill-treated,  for  all  the  reports  we 
had  of  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  Turks  went  to 
show  that  they  were  well  cared  for.  In  this  as  in 
other  respects  the  Turk  showed  himself  to  be 
much  more  civilized  than  the  German.  It  was  a 
pleasant  surprise  to  be  able  to  greet  again  these 


134  "OVER  THERE" 

comrades,  who  but  a  few  minutes  before  we  had 
comimiserated  on  their  hard  luck;  for  they  came 
off  in  the  last  boats,  there  being  no  wounded  to 
require  their  services.  The  padre,  who  was  a 
Roman  Catholic  priest,  said  that  he  missed  the 
chance  of  a  lifetime  and  would  now  probably 
never  know  what  the  inside  of  a  harem  was  like  ! 

They  were  sad  hearts  that  looked  back  to  those 
fading  shores.  It  almost  seemed  as  if  we  were 
giving  up  a  bit  of  Australia  to  the  enemy.  Those 
acres  had  been  taken  possession  of  by  Australian 
courage,  baptized  with  the  best  of  the  country's 
blood,  and  now  held  the  sacred  dust  of  the  great- 
est of  our  citizens,  whose  title  to  suffrage  had 
been  purchased  by  the  last  supreme  sacrifice. 
Never  were  men  asked  to  do  a  harder  thing  than 
this — to  leave  the  bones  of  their  comrades  to  fall 
into  alien  hands.  These  were  men  white  of  face 
and  with  clenched  fists  that  filed  past  those  wooden 
crosses  and  few  who  did  not  feel  shame  at  the 
desertion.  Some  there  were  who  whispered  to 
the  spirits  hovering  near  an  appeal  for  under- 
standing and  forgiveness.  They  wondered  how 
the  worshippers  of  the  Crescent  would  treat  the 
dead  resting  beneath  the  symbols  that  to  them 
represented  an  accursed  infidel  faith.  There  are 
cravens  in  Australia  who  suggest  that  she  has  done 
more  than  her  share  in  this  struggle,  but  while  one 
foot  of  soil  that  has  been  hallowed  by  Australian 
blood  remains  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  the  man 


THE  EVACUATION  135 

who  would  withhold  one  man  or  one  shilling  is 
not  only  no  true  AustraHan  but  no  true  man — a 
dastard  and  a  traitor. 

When  peace  shall  dawn  and  the  Turk  shall  heed 
the  voice  of  United  Democracy  as  it  proclaims 
with  force,  "Thou  shalt  not  oppress,  nor  shalt 
thou  close  the  gates  of  these  straits  again  !"  then 
shall  visitors  from  many  lands  wander  through 
these  trenches  and  marvel  what  kind  of  men  were 
they  that  held  them  for  so  long  against  such 
odds,  and  gaze  at  the  honeycombed  cliff  where 
twentieth-century  men  lived  like  cave-dwellers, 
and  sang  and  joked  more  than  the  abiders  in 
halls  of  luxury. 

To-day  the  name  Anzac  is  the  envy  of  all  other 
soldiers,  and  while  none  would  want  to  live  that 
life  again,  every  man  who  was  there  rejoices  in 
the  memory  of  the  association  and  comradeship 
of  those  days.  Read  the  "Anzac  Book"  and  you 
will  see  that  there  was  much  talent  and  many 
a  spark  of  genius  in  that  army.  But  only  those 
who  were  there  know  of  the  many  busy  brains 
that  worked  overtime  devising  improvements  in 
the  weapons  that  were  available,  and  ever  seeking 
to  invent  contrivances  that  added  to  comfort. 
Many  of  the  inventions  are  forgotten,  but  some  are 
in  use  in  France  to-day,  notably  the  "periscope 
rifle  "  or  "sniperscope  "  and  the  "thumb  periscope" 
which  is  no  thicker  than  a  man's  finger.  It  was 
found  that  our  box-periscopes  were  always  being 


136  "OVER  THERE" 

smashed  by  the  Turkish  snipers ;  so  one  Ingenious 
brain  collared  an  officer's  cane  and  scooped 
out  the  centre.  With  tiny  mirrors  top  and  bot- 
tom, it  was  a  very  effective  periscope,  and  soon 
most  officers  were  minus  their  canes.  Some  very 
good  bombs  were  made  from  jam-tins  with  a  wad 
of  giincotton,  and  filled  up  with  all  manner  of 
missiles.  These  improvised  bombs  were  risky  to 
handle,  and  some  men  lost  their  lives  through 
carelessness,  though  probably  there  were  nearly 
as  many  accidents  through  overcaution.  They 
would  generally  be  provided  with  a  five-second 
fuse,  and  you  were  supposed  to  swing  three  times 
before  throwing.  Some  men  who  had  not  much 
faith  in  the  time-fuse  threw  the  bombs  as  soon  as 
the  spark  struck,  which  gave  the  Turks  time  to 
return  them.  Both  sides  played  this  game  of 
catch,  but  I  think  we  were  the  better  at  it.  The 
way  of  lighting  the  fuse  was  to  hold  the  head  of  a 
match  on  the  powder  stream,  drawing  the  friction- 
paper  across  it.  This  generally  caught  imme- 
diately, but  after  a  while  some  one  introduced 
the  idea  of  having  burning  sticks  in  the  trench, 
and  a  "torchman"  would  pass  down  the  trench 
lighting  each  fuse.  One  man  was  not  sure  that 
the  spark  had  caught  and  began  blowing  on  it 
and  was  surprised  when  it  blew  his  hand  off.  We 
would  drop  on  top  of  the  Turks'  bombs  a  coat  or 
sand-bag,  and  it  was  surprising  how  little  damage 
was  done.     If  you  put  a  sheet  of  iron  on  top  of 


THE  EVACUATION  137 

one,  or  a  sand-bag  full  of  earth,  it  would  make 
the  explosion  very  much  worse,  but  loose  cloth 
would  spread  out  and  make  a  spring-cushion  by- 
compression  of  the  air  above. 

There  was  another  use  made  of  empty  jam-tins: 
they  were  tied  to  our  barbed  wire  so  that  if  any 
Turk  tried  to  get  through  he  would  make  a  noise 
like  the  cowbells  at  milking- time.  Talking  about 
barbed  wire,  Johnny  Turk  played  a  huge  joke  on 
us  on  one  occasion.  As  the  staking  down  of  wire 
was  too  risky,  we  prepared  some  "knife-rests" 
(hedges  of  wire  shaped  like  a  knife  rest)  and 
rolled  them  over  our  parapet,  but  opened  our  eyes 
in  amazement  to  find  in  the  morning  that  they  had 
only  stopped  a  few  feet  from  the  Turkish  trenches. 
The  Turks  had  sneaked  out  and  tied  ropes  to 
them  and  hauled  them  over  to  protect  them- 
selves. Thereafter  we  took  care  to  let  Abdiil  do 
his  own  wiring. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
"SHIPS  THAT  PASS  ..." 

Although  we  did  not  capture  the  Narrows 
(that  narrow  stream  of  water  through  which  a 
current  runs  so  swiftly  that  floating  mines  are 
carried  down  into  it  faster  than  the  mine-sweepers 
could  gather  them  up),  this  did  not  prevent  at 
least  one  representative  of  the  navy  from  passing 
that  barrier.  This  was  the  Australian  submarine, 
A2 .  It  may  not  be  generally  known  that  Australia 
had  two  submarines  at  the  outbreak  of  war. 
These  would  appear  antediluvian  alongside  the 
latest  underwater  monster,  but,  nevertheless,  one 
of  these  accomplished  a  feat  such  as  no  German 
submarine  has  ever  approached.  The  first  of 
our  submarines  met  an  unknown  fate  as  it  dis- 
appeared somewhere  near  New  Guinea.  There 
has  been  much  speculation  as  to  what  happened 
to  it,  but  its  size  can  be  guessed  at  when  I  mention 
that  a  naval  officer  told  me  he  thought  it  probable 
that  a  shark  had  eaten  it.  A2  was  the  same  type, 
but  it  achieved  lasting  fame  in  that  it  passed 
under  the  mine-field,  through  the  Narrows,  across 
the  Sea  of  Marmora,  and  into  the  port  of  Constan- 
tinople.    Right  between  the  teeth  of  the  Turkish 

138 


"  SHIPS  THAT  PASS  .  .  ."         139 

forts  and  fleet  it  sank  seven  Turkish  troop-ships 
and  retiimed  safely.  A  certain  town  in  Australia 
that  was  called  "Germanton"  has  been  re- 
christened  "Holbrook"  in  honor  of  the  commander 
of  this  gallant  little  craft. 


Every  one  has  heard  the  story  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Emden  by  the  Australian  cruiser 
Sydney,  but  it  is  worth  bringing  to  notice  that 
the  captain  of  the  Emden  was  of  a  different  type 
from  the  pirates  who  have  made  the  German  sailor 
the  most  loathed  creature  that  breathes.  It  is 
hard  to  believe  that  he  was  a  German,  for  it  seems 
incredible  that  a  German  sailor  would  refrain 
from  sinking  a  ship  because  there  was  a  woman 
on  board.  One  can  imagine  that  he  would  be 
ostracized  by  his  brother  officers  of  the  ward- 
room, for  he  actually  had  accompanying  him  a 
spare  ship  on  which  to  put  the  crews  of  the  ships 
he  sank.  One  can  hardly  imagine  him  sitting  at 
mess  with  the  much-decorated  murderer  of  the 
women  and  children  on  the  Lusitania,  and  it  is  the 
latter  who  is  the  popular  hero  in  Germany.  There 
are  none  more  ready  than  the  Australian  soldiers 
to  show  chivalry  to  an  honorable  foe,  and  when 
the  Sydney  brought  Captain  Mueller  and  the  crew 
of  the  Emden  among  the  troop-ships  these  pris- 
oners were  cheered  again  and  again.  They  could 
not  understand  their  reception,  but  the  lads  from 


»» 


I40  "OVER  THERE 

Australia  admired  these  brave  men  for  their 
plucky  fight  and  clever  exploits.  Would  they, 
had  they  not  been  captured  early  in  the  war, 
have  changed  and  become  like  the  vile,  cowardly 
sharks  that  infest  the  seas  in  U-boats  ? 


The  Great  War  is  writing  history  on  such  a 
large  scale  that  the  old  classic  stories  of  heroism 
and  devotion  to  duty  will  be  forgotten  by  the 
next  generation.  The  story  of  the  Birkenhead 
has  always  been  considered  the  highest  illustra- 
tion of  discipline  and  steadiness  in  the  face  of 
death  evinced  by  any  troops,  but  the  citizen- 
soldiers  from  the  young  Australian  democracy 
have  in  this  war  given  on  two  occasions  proof  that 
they  possessed  the  same  qualities.  The  South- 
land has  been  written  in  letters  of  gold  on  the 
pages  of  Australia's  history.  When  the  sneaking 
U-boat  delivered  its  deadly  blow  in  the  entrails  of 
this  crowded  troop-ship,  there  was  no  more  ex- 
citement than  if  the  alarm-bugles  had  summoned 
them  to  an  ordinary  parade.  Some  of  the  boys 
fell  in  on  deck  without  their  life-belts,  but  were 
sent  below  to  get  them.  They  had  to  go,  many  of 
them,  to  the  fourth  deck,  but  they  scorned  to 
show  anxiety  by  proceeding  at  any  other  pace 
than  a  walk.  It  was  soon  evident  that  there  were 
not  enough  boats  left  to  take  all  off  and  so  none 
would  enter  them  and  leave  their  comrades  to  go 


**  SHIPS  THAT  PASS  .  .  ."         141 

doTVTi  with  the  ship.  They  began  to  sing  "Aus- 
tralia Will  Be  There"— 

"Rally  round  the  banner  of  your  country, 
'  Take  the  field  with  brothers  o'er  the  foam, 

On  land  or  sea,  wherever  you  be, 
Keep  your  eye  on  Germany. 
For  England  home  and  beauty 
Have  no  cause  to  fear — 
•  Should  old  acquaintance  be  forgot— 

No — no — no,  no,  no — 
Australia  will  be  the-re-re-re ! 
Australia  will  be  there ! " 

Some  one  called  out,  "Where?"  and  the  answer 
came  from  many  throats — "In  hell,  in  five  min- 
utes!" and  it  looked  like  it.  But  nothing  in  a 
future  life  cotild  hold  any  terrors  for  the  man  who 
had  campaigned  during  a  simimer  in  Egypt. 
In  the  end  volunteers  were  taken  into  the  stoke- 
hole and  the  Southland  was  beached.  The  colonel 
was  drowned  and  there  were  a  few  other  casualties, 
but  most  escaped  without  a  wetting,  so  what 
looked  like  an  adventure  turned  out  to  be  a  pretty 
tame  affair  after  all.  But  Australia  will  ever  re- 
member how  those  boys  stood  fast  with  the  dark 
waters  of  death  washing  their  feet  and,  like  Stoics, 
waited  calmly  for  whatever  Fate  would  send  them. 
This  epic  of  Australian  fortitude  was  written  in 
September,  1915,  and  is  part  of  the  Dardanelles 
story. 

But  the  latest  troops  from  Australia  are  of  the 
same  heroic  stuff  as  those  who  wrote  the  name 


142  "OVER  THERE" 

"Anzac"  with  their  blood  on  the  Gallipoli  beach. 
For  the  Southland  incident  was  duplicated  in  al- 
most every  particular  on  the  Ballarat  in  April, 
1 91 7.  This  story  was  enacted  in  the  waters  of 
the  English  Channel,  and  there  were  no  casualties, 
for  the  work  of  rescue  by  torpedo-boats  was  made 
easy  as  each  man  calmly  waited  his  turn  and 
enlivened  the  monotony  meanwhile  with  ragtime,! 
and  again  and  again  did  the  strains  of  "Australia 
Will  Be  There!"  ring  out  over  the  waters.  As 
they  sang  "So  Long,  Letty,"  many  substituted 
other  Christian  names,  and  it  looked  as  if  it  might 
be  "so  long"  in  reality.  But  they  knew  that  to 
an  Australian  girl  there  would  be  no  "sadness  of 
farewell"  when  she  realized  that  her  lover  had 
been  carried  heavenward  by  the  guardian  angel 
that  waits  to  bear  upward  the  soul  of  a  hero. 

•  ••••••• 

"Big  Lizzie"  (the  Queen  Elizabeth)  was  for 
many  months  queen  of  the  waters  round  Gallipoli. 
Her  tongue  boomed  louder  than  any  other,  and  it 
was  always  known  when  she  spoke.  She  was  the 
latest  thing  in  dreadnoughts  then,  just  commis- 
sioned, and  the  largest  ship  afloat.  Though  since 
that  time  the  British  navy  has  added  several 
giants  that  dwarf  even  her  immense  proportions. 
The  boys  in  the  trenches  and  on  the  beach  at 
Anzac  never  failed  to  thrill  with  pride  as  they 
heard  her  bajang  forth  her  iron  hate  against  the 
oppressor.     We    knew   that   wherever   her   ton- 


"  SHIPS  THAT  PASS  .  .  ."         143 

weight  shells  fell  there  would  be  much  weeping 
and  gnashing  of  teeth  among  the  enemy.  We 
readily  believed  all  the  stories  told  of  her  prowess, 
no  matter  how  impossible  they  seemed.  No  one 
doubted  even  when  we  heard  that  she  had  sunk 
a  boat  in  the  Sea  of  Marmora  twenty-seven  miles 
away,  firing  right  over  a  mountain.  She  was 
there  before  our  eyes  an  epitome  of  the  might 
and  power  of  the  British  navy  that  had  policed 
the  seas  of  the  world,  sweeping  them  clear  of  the 
surface  pirate  and  also  confining  the  depredations 
of  the  underwater  assassin,  so  that  all  nations  ex- 
cept the  robber  ones,  might  trade  in  safety.  How 
true  it  is  that  the  British  navy  has  been  the  guar- 
antor of  the  freedom  of  the  seas,  so  that  even  in 
British  ports  over  the  whole  wide  world  all  nations 
should  have  equality  of  trade !  Never  has  this 
power  been  used  selfishly:  take  for  instance,  the 
British  dominions  of  the  South  Seas,  where  Amer- 
ican goods  can  be  sold  cheaper  than  those  of 
Britain,  for  the  shorter  distance  more  than  com- 
pensates for  the  small  preference  in  tariff.  The 
almost  unprotected  coast  of  the  American  con- 
tinent has  been  kept  free  of  invaders;  its  large 
helpless  cities  are  unshelled,  because  "out  there" 
in  the  North  Sea  the  British  navy  maintains  an 
eternal  vigilance. 

After  some  valuable  battleships  were  sent  to 
the  bottom  by  the  German  submarines  it  was  real- 


144  "OVER  THERE'' 

ized  that  "Big  Lizzie"  was  too  vulnerable  and 
valuable  to  be  kept  in  these  waters;  so  in  the  later 
months  her  place  was  taken  by  some  weird  craft 
that  excited  great  curiosity  among  the  sailormen. 
These  were  the  "monitors"  which  were  just 
floating  platforms  for  big  guns.  They  were  built 
originally  for  the  rivers  of  South  America,  but  it 
was  discovered  that  their  shallow  draft  made 
them  impervious  to  torpedo  attack;  and  as  they 
were  able  to  get  close  in  shore,  their  big  guns  made 
havoc  of  the  Turkish  defenses.  They  do  not 
travel  at  high  speed  and  appear  to  waddle  a  good 
deal,  but  they  have  been  most  invaluable  right 
along,  and  were  of  great  assistance  lately  to  the 
Italians  in  holding  up  the  German  drive.  They 
have  been  used  also  around  Ostend  and  are  of 
prime  importance  wherever  the  flank  of  an  army 
rests  on  the  sea.  I  have  picked  up  portions  of 
their  shells  and  seen  the  shrapnel  lying  like  hail 
on  sand-hills  in  Arabia  (more  than  twenty  miles 
from  the  Suez  Canal,  which  was  the  nearest 
waterway). 

We  also  passed  some  other  amazing-looking 
craft  which  were  being  towed  down  the  Red  Sea. 
They  looked  like  armored  houseboats,  and  were 
for  use  up  the  Tigris.  I  should  not  like  to  have 
been  boxed  up  in  one,  for  it  looked  as  if  they  would 
have  to  use  a  can-opener  to  get  you  out,  and  it  did 
not  appear  to  me  as  though  the  sides  were  bullet- 


"  SHIPS  THAT  PASS  .  .  ."         145 

proof.  But  trust  the  Admiralty  to  know  what 
they  are  doing !  Pages  could  be  filled  with  the 
mere  cataloguing  of  the  various  kinds  of  ships 
used  by  the  navy  in  this  war,  and  I  am  told  that 
these  river  "tanks"  were  the  prime  factor  in  the 
advance  in  Mesopotamia. 

A  marine  court  would  decide  that  the  River 
Clyde  was  not  a  ship  at  all  but  a  fortress.  There 
was  a  naval  engagement  in  this  war  when  two 
ships  were  refused  their  share  of  the  prize  money 
for  the  capture  of  German  ships  because  they 
were  anchored,  the  sea  lawyers  decreeing  that 
they  were  forts. 

But  the  old,  sea-beaten  collier  River  Clyde  de- 
serves to  be  remembered  as  a  ship  that  has  passed, 
for  before  she  groimded  on  the  beach  she  carried 
in  her  womb  as  brave  a  company  of  heroes  as 
have  ever  emblazoned  their  deeds  on  a  nation's 
roll  of  honor.  The  wooden  horse  that  carried 
Ulysses  and  the  heroic  Greeks  into  the  heart  of 
ancient  Troy  did  not  enclose  a  braver  band  than 
were  these  modem  youths  shut  within  the  iron- 
sides of  the  old  tramp  steamer  which  bore  them 
into  the  camp  of  their  enemies  somewhere  near 
the  supposed  site  of  the  Homeric  city. 

Doors  had  been  cut  in  the  sides  of  the  old 
steamer,  and  lighters  were  moored  alongside  with 
laimches.  When  she  ran  agrotmd  these  Hghters 
were  towed  roimd  so  as  to  form  a  gangway  to 


146  "OVER  THERE" 

the  shore,  and  the  troops  poured  down  onto  them. 
The  Turks  were  as  prepared  in  this  case  to  repel 
an  attack  as  at  Anzac,  and  held  their  fire  until 
the  ship  was  hard  and  fast.  They  then  had  a 
huge  target  at  pointblank  range  on  which  to  con- 
centrate leaden  hail  from  machine-guns  and  rifles 
aided  by  the  shells  from  the  Asiatic  forts.  Few 
lived  in  that  eager  first  rush — some  jumped  into 
the  sea  to  wade  or  swim,  but  were  shot  in  the 
water  or  drowned  imder  weight  of  their  equipment. 
Again  and  again  the  hghters  broke  from  their 
moorings,  and  many  brave  swimmers  defied  death 
to  secure  them.  One  boy  won  the  Victoria  Cross 
for  repeatedly  attempting  to  carry  a  rope  in  his 
teeth  to  the  shore.  But  the  crosses  earned  that 
day  if  they  were  awarded  would  give  to  the  glorious 
Twenty-Ninth  Division  a  distinction  that  none 
would  begrudge  them.  The  regiments  of  the 
Hampshires,  Dublin,  and  Munster  Fusiliers  added 
in  a  few  hours  more  glory  to  their  colors  than 
past  achievements  had  given  even  such  proud 
historic  names  as  theirs. 

The  landing  at  Cape  Helles  and  the  wooden 
horse  are  beacons  of  the  Gallipoli  campaign  that 
shine  undimmed  alongside  the  Australian-New 
Zealand  landing  at  Anzac  which,  as  a  rising  sim, 
proclaimed  the  dawn  of  the  day  of  their  nation- 
hood. 

Another  "ship  that  passed"  and  in  its  pass- 


"  SHIPS  THAT  PASS  .  .  ."         147 

ing  wrought  havoc  on  the  enemy  was  one  too 
small  to  support  a  man.  It  was  a  tiny  raft,  and 
it  was  propelled  by  one-man  power,  who  swam 
ashore  from  a  destroyer,  towing  this  craft  which 
was  to  bluff  the  Tiu-ks  into  believing  that  a  whole 
army  was  descending  upon  them.  The  man  was 
Lieutenant  Freyberg,  and  on  the  raft  he  carried 
the  armament  that  was  to  keep  a  large  Turkish 
force  standing  to  arms  at  Bulair  (the  northern- 
most neck  of  the  Peninsula)  when  they  might 
have  been  preventing  the  landing  on  the  other 
beaches.  The  weapons  this  gallant  young  officer 
used  were  merely  some  flares  which  he  lit  at 
intervals  along  the  beach,  and  then  went  naked 
inland  to  overlook  the  army  he  was  attacking. 
Leaving  them  to  endure  for  the  rest  of  that  night 
the  continual  strain  of  a  momentarily  expected 
attack,  he  then  swam  out  to  sea,  for  five  miles, 
searching  anxiously  for  the  destroyer  that  was 
to  pick  him  up.  After  several  more  hours  of  float- 
ing he  was  sighted  by  the  rescuing  ship  and  taken 
on  board,  exhausted  and  half  dead.  The  Tiu-kish 
papers  stated  that  "the  strong  attack  at  Bulair 
was  repulsed  with  heavy  losses  by  our  brave  de- 
fenders." 

This  hero,  who  is  a  New  Zealander,  and  now 
Brigadier-General  Freyberg,  V.C.,  is  well-known 
in  California  and  was  at  Leland-Stanford  Uni- 
versity. 


PART  IV 
THE  WESTERN   FRONT 


CHAPTER  XVII 
FERRY  POST  AND  THE  SUEZ  CANAL  DEFENSES 

The  first  attack  on  the  Suez  Canal  caused  the 
authorities  to  reaUze  the  need  of  protecting  the 
canal  by  having  a  line  of  defense  in  Arabia  far 
enough  east  to  prevent  the  enemy  reaching  the 
waterway  itself.  For  if  the  Turks  shoiild  again 
appear  on  the  banks  of  the  canal,  they  might 
easily  put  enough  explosives  in  it  to  blow  it  up. 
So  vital  is  this  artery  of  the  British  Empire  that 
a  German  general  stated  that  if  they  struck  a 
blow  there  they  would  sever  the  empire's  neck. 
The  Turkish  attempt  to  cross  the  canal  was  easily 
frustrated,  and  of  the  Anzacs  only  a  few  New 
Zealanders  had  a  part  in  the  scrap;  but  the  iron 
boats  that  they  carried  across  the  desert  are  in 
the  museimi  in  Cairo  and  will  be  for  generations 
"souvenirs"  of  this  enterprise. 

After  the  evacuation  of  Gallipoli  there  were 
constant  rumors  of  another  attack  being  con- 
templated, and  for  several  months  the  Australians 
and  New  Zealanders  were  kept  in  Egypt  for  the 
defense  of  the  canal.  Before  we  dug  the  trenches 
in  Arabia  (which  were  about  ten  miles  east  of 
the  canal)  passengers  on  steamers  passing  through 
it  had  some  lively  experiences,  as  the  Bedouins  of 


152  "OVER  THERE" 

the  desert  would  sometimes  amuse  themselves  by 
sniping  at  those  on  board,  and  the  wheel-house 
and  bridge  had  to  be  protected  by  sand-bags. 

We  were  camped  first  at  Tel-el- Kebir  and  then 
at  Ferry  Post,  near  Ismailia  (where  the  canal 
enters  the  Bitter  Lake).  Those  who  took  part 
in  the  march  from  Tel-el-Kebir  will  not  forget 
it  in  a  hurry.  The  camels  bolted  with  our  water 
and  we  only  had  our  water-bottles  in  a  hundred 
miles  across  the  desert.  By  the  time  we  reached 
the  Sweet  Water  Canal  we  were  panting  like 
dogs,  our  tongues  swollen  and  hanging  out,  our 
Ups  cracked  and  bleeding.  There  were  many  poor 
fellows  just  crazed  for  need  of  a  drink,  under 
that  awful  sun  that  was  like  the  open  furnace- 
door  of  hell,  with  the  sand  filling  every  orifice 
in  our  faces  and  parching  our  throats  till  they 
were  inflamed.  We  were  warned  that  the  Sweet 
(or  fresh)  Water  Canal  was  full  of  germs  and 
that  to  drink  it  might  possibly  mean  death,  but 
most  of  us  were  too  far  gone  in  the  agony  of 
thirst  to  care  whether  the  drink  were  oui  last,  and 
we  threw  ourselves  down  at  the  water's  edge 
and  lapped  it  up  like  dogs.  Fortunately,  there 
were  few  ill  effects,  and  the  medical  staff  was 
not  overworked  because  of  it.  There  might  have 
been  many  casualties,  though,  if  it  had  not  been 
for  the  New  Zealanders,  who,  hearing  of  our  plight, 
came  out  with  water-carts  and  ambulances  and 
picked  up  those  who  had  fallen  by  the  way. 


FERRY  POST  AND  SUEZ  CANAL  153 

At  Ferry  Post  there  was  a  reorganization  of 
the  Australian  battalions  and  we  lost  many  of 
our  old  pals — alas!  never  to  meet  again  this  side 
of  eternity. 

This  was  the  concentration  camp  whence  bri- 
gades were  despatched  for  a  spell  of  trench- 
digging  and  guard  duty  at  the  outpost  line.  There 
was  a  good  deal  of  rivalry  between  us  and  an- 
other brigade  known  as  "The  Chocolate  Soldiers." 
They  received  this  nickname  because  they  were 
the  most  completely  equipped  imit  that  ever  left 
Australia.  They  were  commanded  by  a  well- 
known  public  man,  and  the  womenfolk  had  seen 
that  they  lacked  nothing  in  sweaters  or  bed- 
socks.  They  had  a  band  for  every  battalion, 
while  we  had  to  tramp  along  without  the  aid  of 
music  to  enliven  our  lagging  steps.  Maybe  we 
were  a  bit  jealous,  because  they  on  several  occa- 
sions went  by  train  when  we  had  to  hoof  it.  When 
we  went  to  relieve  them  in  the  trenches  we  met 
on  a  narrow  concrete  roadway  where  there  was 
only  room  for  one  set  of  fours.  The  proper  way 
to  pass  would  have  been  for  each  to  form  two  deep, 
but  our  boys  spontaneously  called  out,  "Give  the 
gentlemen  the  road!"  and  we  stepped  aside  into 
the  sand.  It  took  us  about  half  an  hour  to 
pass,  and  all  the  time  there  was  a  running  fire 
of  comment.  To  no  one  in  particular  our  fel- 
lows would  remark,  "Why,  look  !  Some  of  them 
even  shave!"    "What  a  nice  figure  that  captain 


154  "OVER  THERE" 

has  !"  "They  let  them  have  real  guns,  too  !"  and 
as  the  transport  passed  piled  high  with  officers' 
kits,  there  was  a  shout  of  * '  There  go  their  feather 
beds!" 

We  had  a  sports  meeting  in  the  desert,  and 
everybody  in  our  brigade  from  the  brigadier  down 
to  the  cook's  off-sider  was  delirious  with  joy  when 
we  carried  off  the  "championship  cup,"  beating 
the  "Chocolates"  by  two  or  three  points.  We 
might  not  have  been  so  elated  had  not  the 
"Chocs."  been  such  "nuts"  on  themselves,  for 
they  had  been  offering  ten  to  one  on  their  chances. 

The  part  of  the  trenches  that  we  occupied  was 
known  as  "Hog's  Back."  On  our  left  was  "Dun- 
troon"  (named  after  the  Australian  West  Point). 
In  front  of  us  was  a  peculiarly  shaped  hill  called 
"Whale  Back."  We  did  not  live  in  the  trenches 
themselves,  as  they  were  continually  falling  in  and 
had  to  be  cleaned  out  again  practically  every  day. 
Our  suppHes  were  brought  within  about  three 
miles  on  a  light  tramway.  Sometimes  we  went 
short,  as  this  train  had  a  habit  of  ttiming  over 
when  rounding  a  corner  and  emptying  our  much- 
needed  tucker  in  the  bottom  of  the  gully. 

From  the  rail-head,  which  was  also  the  end  of 
the  pipe-line,  food  and  water  were  loaded  onto 
camels ;  and  as  I  had  seen  something  of  camel  trans- 
port in  western  Queensland,  I  was  for  a  few  weeks 
put  in  charge  of  the  camel-loading.  Camels  are 
curious  beasts  and  know  to  an  oimce  the  weight 


FERRY  POST  AND  SUEZ  CANAL  155 

they  carried  yesterday,  and  if  you  attempt  to  put 
on  them  one  jam- tin  more  they  will  curse  you 
long  and  loud,  end  up  with  some  very  sarcastic 
and  personal  remarks,  and  then  submit  to  the 
injustice  under  protest.  They  are  very  revenge- 
ful and  will  harbor  a  grudge  for  days,  waiting 
their  chance  to  bite  your  arm  off  when  they  can 
catch  you  unawares.  A  camel's  load  has  to  be 
equal  weight  on  each  side,  and  it  was  some  problem 
making  a  ham  and  a  side  of  beef  balance  a  case 
of  canned  goods.  These  camels  were  a  mongrel 
breed,  anyway,  and  poor  weight-carriers.  We 
usually  put  an  eight-hundred-pound  load  on  a 
camel  in  Queensland — I  have  seen  one  carrying 
two  pianos — but  these  beasts  would  not  carry 
more  than  two  hundred  pounds.  A  camel  has 
never  really  been  tamed  and  they  protest  against 
everything  they  are  asked  to  do.  They  growl 
and  swear  when  made  to  kneel,  and  make  as  much 
fuss  again  when  urged  to  get  up.  Their  skin 
never  heals  from  a  cut  or  sore,  but  they  can  have 
no  feeling  in  it,  for  the  Arabs  simply  stitch  a  piece 
of  leather  •  over  the  place.  An  old  camel  is  all 
shreds  and  patches.  They  have  to  be  provided 
with  separate  drinking-places  from  the  horses, 
for  they  put  germs  in  the  water  that  give  the 
horses  some  kind  of  disease.  They  are  unsociable 
brutes  and  ought  to  be  segregated,  anyway.  No 
wonder  every  high-bred  horse  is  terrified  at  the 
smell  of  a  camel ;  the  first  time  you  meet  one  it  is 


IS6  "OVER  THERE" 

like  a  blow  in  the  face  and  remains  a  weight  on  your 
mind  until  the  camel  is  a  long  way  to  leeward. 
They  had  a  special  objection  to  carrying  fresh 
water,  and  nearly  always  bolted  when  they  dis- 
covered it  was  "Adam's  ale"  that  was  swishing 
about  on  the  outside  of  their  hump.  Perhaps  it 
reminded  them  of  their  last  week's  drink.  The 
result  for  us  was  that  when  the  transport  arrived 
there  would  be  no  water,  and  Mr.  Ishmail  and  his 
camel  would  have  to  beat  a  hasty  retreat  from  the 
rage  of  the  boys,  for  water  was  our  chief  need,  and 
it  seems  to  me  that  there  never  was  a  time  in 
those  trenches  that  I  wasn't  thirsty. 

I  had  some  fun  scouting  in  the  desert,  but  on 
several  occasions  was  very  nearly  lost  when  there 
were  no  stars,  and  hills  had  been  altered  in  shape 
by  the  wind  since  I  last  passed  them.  We  were 
expecting  an  attack  by  the  Turks,  and  some  camel 
patrols  we  sent  out  reported  signs  of  camps  but 
no  sight  of  the  enemy.  As  a  consequence  of 
these  rumors  our  sentries  were  very  nervous,  and 
we  scouts  ran  considerable  risk  returning  to  our 
lines  before  daylight.  I  was  very  nearly  shot 
on  several  occasions,  and  once  was  within  an  ace 
of  firing  on  one  of  my  best  pals.  I  saw  a  figure 
in  the  dark  and,  sneaking  up  to  it,  called  out: 
"Put  up  your  hands!"  He  did  so,  but  then 
foolishly  dropped  them  again.  If  he  had  not 
called  out,  "Who  the  hell  are  you?"  at  the  same 
moment,  he  would  have  been  a  dead  man. 


FERRY  POST  AND  SUEZ  CANAL  157 

A  squadron  of  our  Light  Horse  discovered  a 
Ttirkish  well-boring  party  in  the  desert.  They 
were  under  command  of  an  Austrian  engineer, 
but  soon  surrendered  when  they  saw  that  they  were 
surrounded.  This  made  us  sure  that  the  Turkish 
army  could  not  be  far  away,  but  oiur  aeroplanes 
reported  no  signs  of  it.  A  few  weeks  later  an 
attack  was  made  by  about  twenty  thousand 
Turks  on  the  Scottish  regiment  holding  the  line 
to  the  north  of  us  and  we  had  a  bit  of  a  skir- 
mish with  their  flank  guard.  They  surprised  us 
completely;  the  fight  was  fought  mostly  in  py- 
jamas on  our  part,  but  we  had  little  difficulty  in 
driving  them  off.  This  raid  was  some  achieve- 
ment and  I  take  off  my  hat  to  the  man  who 
planned  it.  They  came  across  those  many  miles 
of  desert  without  being  seen,  bringing  with  them 
even  six-inch  guns.  They  bluffed  our  aeroplanes 
by  only  travelling  at  night  and  hiding  under 
sand-colored  canvas  in  the  daytime.  Their  heavy 
transport  was  moved  by  laying  a  track  in  front 
of  it,  taking  it  up  behind  as  it  passed  on  and  put-j 
ting  it  down  in  front  again. 

We  captured  a  lone  Turk  soldier  nursing  his 
blistered  feet  in  the  desert  and  he  was  delighted 
to  join  us.  We  also  brought  in  at  the  same  time 
a  Bedouin  who  evidently  thought  we  were  some 
species  of  game,  for  although  he  fired  on  us  he 
had  no  love  for  his  Turkish  companion  and  could 
not  be  persuaded  to  keep  him  company.     The 


158  "0^'ER  THERE 


»» 


only  request  I  heard  this  Turk  make  was  for  one 
of  our  unifonns.  He  kept  pointing  out  the  filth 
of  his  own  clothes,  so  I  had  some  water  given  to 
him  to  wash  them,  but  this  did  not  satisfy  him  at 
all.  It  was  not  the  cleanliness  of  our  uniforms 
he  admired,  but  the  cut  and  material.  Perhaps 
this  was  poHcy,  for  generally  the  Turkish  prisoners 
would  remark:  "Englisher  ver^*  good — German 
damn  bad!" 

After  this  we  returned  to  Fern*  Post  again  and 
it  was  almost  like  going  home  for  we  had  daily 
swims  in  the  canal  and  plenty  of  Hquid  refresh- 
ment, the  wet  canteen  doing  a  roaring  trade.  We 
were  also  able  to  buy  luxuries,  such  as  biscuits  and 
canned  puddings ;  and  even  reheve  the  monotony 
of  marmalade  jam  with  "bullock>''s  joy."  This 
last  is  merely  molasses  or  "golden  s^Tup"  called 
"bullock\-'s  joy,"  sometimes  "cocky's  delight" 
because  it  is  the  chief  covering  for  shces  of  bread 
with  the  bullock-driver  or  cock^'  farmer  in  Aus- 
tralia. 

When  a  steamer  was  passing  through  the  canal 
during  our  bathing-parades  we  had  to  get  in  up 
to  the  neck  as  we  were  warmly  clad  with  merely  a 
tin  identity-disk  himg  round  our  necks  on  a  piece 
of  dirt\-  string.  Some  of  the  passengers  would 
throw  into  the  water  tins  of  tobacco  and  cigarettes ; 
and  there  were  some  sprints  for  these  made  in 
record  time,  I  tell  you.  Sometimes  we  would 
receive  messages  from  home  and  it  was  surpris- 


FERRY   POST  .\XD   SUEZ   C\.V\L     159 

ing  how  ofteii  the  man  whose  nsriir  -  is  called 
on:  TTould  ch£r.:e  to  be  pr^;-:i:  71  ere  were 
occasions,  howe\-er,  when  some  one  —ould  call 
out  frran  the  ships:  "DVou  know  PrrriTe  Brown 
of  the  Yorkshires?"  an:  -  :n-  :  ;  e  eo  ex- 
plain that  we  were  Aj  I  s  :  ^e  we 
could  not  expect  them  ::  r^  -_zt  j.:  er  as 
we  were,  thoug-i  :  ~  '-  an  r: : :          ~  -        'e  given 

the  war  ~;.5  still  en    and  tell  ihem  to  give  our 


One  nt:  — -^  : e:  lamp  was  all  agog  and  the 
air  tn::!:  "rriih  "fun:  ne-  We  were  orferei  zo 
get  ready  for  embarhanin,  and  specolaliQai  was 
rife  as  to  our  destirinin.  Some  said  we  were 
going  to  Mescrpotamia.  Cnrr:  -.;f  it  from  a 
reliable  source  that  ~e  ~z7t  ;  :nai  ::r  :r;  nhha. 
Same  one  said,  :'.z:  ;.  ::.z  :   :  t:  :         ;ii 

heardf  that  a  sentr;.*  cuteae  me  ^-iTn:..  5  .^'r.  na-i 
overheard  the  generai  tahdnr  In  nn  .r  ;ni 
lEwe  to  mac;  t  .  .'  liSiicjs  .  :  :  _  j  j;  ..e. 
There  were  ie~  ~  n3  guessed  we  vretr  i-n^  to 
France  r:::h  hent^  t>?  good  to  be  true,  anl  :nly 
the  bold  :nf£  iatrl  ::  — hi?oer  ''that  it  nn^nt  be 
so,"  but  thi;-  -rr^i  inmieilatdv  -rVf  tn  ^'Shnt 
vtpl    Dm  :  :t  an  ass  I    Hasn'i  z-i  i-aa  Ir^n  ;  _t 

were  ainafd  to  v: ::e   aar  a:;.-;    aiaj.i   lest   Fate 

shc-_la   :veraear   ns.    anl   a   :az   —  :ra   ■"France" 
was  menncnea  :v  i.:;iaent  -^e  all  eaiately 


i6o  "OVER  THERE" 

touched  wood,  a  handy  pal's  head  serving  the 
purpose. 

When  we  took  train  for  Alexandria  our  hearts 
beat  almost  to  suffocation  and  it  was  only  when  the 
troop-ship  cleared  the  harbor,  and  eager  eyes 
watching  the  compass  saw  her  course  was  set  N.W., 
that  we  gave  a  cheer,  feeling  that  at  last  we  might 
have  a  chance  to  show  our  mettle  with  the  Cana- 
dians and  Tommies,  where  the  biggest  fight  was 
raging. 

Before  we  left  the  wharf  our  kits  were  inspected 
and  cut  down  to  absolutely  the  minimimi  weight. 
Transport  space  was  limited,  but  it  broke  many  of 
our  hearts  to  part  with  the  sweater  "Phyllis" 
made.  We  could  only  keep  two  pairs  of  socks; 
some  boys  had  at  least  fifty.  In  one  boy's  pack 
there  was  a  red  pair  and  he  was  thereafter  always 
known  as  "Coldfeet."  No  one  wept  at  leaving 
Egypt,  and  France  held  all  the  fruit  of  our  dreams. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
FIRST  DAYS  IN  FRANCE  .  .  . 

We  had  some  excitement  crossing  from  Alex- 
andria to  Marseilles,  and  the  troop-ship  ahead  of 
us  was  torpedoed,  though  no  lives  were  lost.  But 
it  was  great  to  see  oiir  watch-dog  of  a  destroyer 
chase  after  the  submarine.  The  transport  I  was 
on  was  going  over  twenty-two  knots,  but  the 
destroyer  passed  us  as  though  we  were  standing 
still.  The  captain  of  our  ship  said  she  was  doing 
forty-seven  knots.  At  any  rate,  she  rammed  the 
submarine  and  must  have  appeared,  through  their 
periscope,  just  as  a  huge  wave. 

How  excited  those  French  people  were  over  us 
Australians!  They  pelted  us  with  flowers  and 
sweets,  and,  while  no  one  objected  to  the  embraces 
of  the  girls,  we  thought  it  a  bit  too  much  when  the 
men  as  well  threw  their  arms  around  us  and  kissed 
us  on  both  cheeks.  French  customs  were  new  to 
us,  and  some  of  the  boys  thought  the  men  were 
crazy. 

We  weren't  allowed  much  time  to  enjoy  the 
gayeties  of  this  lovely  French  seaport,  but  were 
marched  off  to  the  train  and  sent  north  to  the  big 
show.  We  thought  we  had  never  seen  such 
lovely  scenery  as  the  south  of  France.     I  am  not 

i6i 


l62  "OVER  THERE 


>» 


going  to  say  that  we  have  not  just  as  good  in 
AustraHa,  but  the  wonderful  greenness  and  the 
trees  were  such  a  change  to  us  after  Egypt  that 
the  boys  just  hung  from  the  carriage- windows, 
and  as  there  was  a  good  number  that  could  not 
get  these  vantage-points,  they  scrambled  onto 
the  roofs  of  the  carriages,  so  as  not  to  miss  any 
of  that  wonderful  panorama  of  ever-changing 
beauty. 

We  did  not  leave  that  train  imtil  we  were  well 
within  sound  of  the  guns,  and  then  disentrained  at 
a  small  village  named  Morbecque.  We  went  into 
tents  in  a  farmyard,  and  the  very  first  evening  be- 
gan to  make  acquaintances  among  the  villagers. 

The  Huns  had  only  been  there  a  day  or  two  in 
their  march  on  Paris,  and  during  that  time  the 
inhabitants  had  made  themselves  scarce.  But 
enough  damage  had  been  done  in  the  houses  dur- 
ing those  two  days  to  make  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  speak  with  disgust  of  the  filthy  "boche." 

Everybody  was  very  willing  to  make  friends  with 
us  AustraHans,  but  the  difficulties  of  language  pre- 
vented a  very  rapid  growth  in  knowledge  of  each 
other.  All  were  on  the  hunt  for  souvenirs,  and  on 
the  second  day  hardly  a  man  had  a  button  left  on 
his  coat.  Orders  were  issued  that  the  buttons 
be  replaced  before  the  next  parade,  and  it  was 
amusing  to  hear  the  boys  trying  to  explain  to  the 
village  shop-mistress  what  they  wanted.  It  ended 
in  their  ransacking  the  stock  themselves,  but  I 


FIRST  DAYS  IN  FRANCE  ...      163 

do  not  think  any  one  found  many  buttons  of  the 
same  kind,  and  our  uniforms  did  not  look  as  smart 
as  usual,  as  somehow  blouse-buttons  do  not  seem 
to  go  well  with  a  uniform. 

These  people  were  simple  and  religious,  as  I 
foimd  most  of  the  French  people  to  be,  at  least 
the  country-folk.  I  received  no  less  than  six  cruci- 
fixes that  I  was  assured  by  the  charming  donors 
would  protect  me  from  all  danger,  as  they  had  been 
blessed  by  certain  archbishops,  the  favorite  being 
the  archbishop  of  Amiens.  I  was  mean  enough 
to  remark  to  one  of  them  that  it  was  a  wonder 
any  of  the  Frenchmen  ever  were  killed.  After  I 
had  been  in  the  trenches  I  met  again  the  daughter 
of  the  mayor,  who  had  given  me  one  of  these  cruci- 
fixes to  wear  around  my  neck.  I  informed  her 
how  a  bullet  had  passed  between  my  eye  and  the 
telescope  I  was  using,  laying  open  my  cheek. 
She  was  quite  sure  that  the  bullet  was  going 
through  my  temple  but  had  been  diverted  by  the 
power  of  the  charm,  and  fourteen  "aves"  she  said 
for  me  every  day. 

While  at  this  village  I  saw  both  a  wedding  and 
a  fimeral,  but  the  funeral  was  by  far  the  most 
spectacular  of  the  two.  The  whole  of  the  out- 
side of  the  house  was  covered  with  black  cloth 
— ^it  must  have  taken  a  hundred  yards — and  pro- 
cessions of  boys  and  girls  went  back  and  forth 
from  church  to  house  for  several  days,  singing  the 
most  doleful  music.     Every  one  in  the  village 


i64  **OVER  THERE" 

attended  the  burial,  and  I  really  think  enjoyed  the 
show. 

For  six  days  we  lay  snug  in  this  village,  every 
day  going  for  route-marches  of  fifteen  to  twenty 
miles  to  harden  us  up  again  after  the  soft  days  on 
the  transport.  We  knew  we  were  on  the  lip  of  the 
caldron  of  war,  for  day  and  night  we  heard  the 
rumbling  of  the  guns. 

Then  on  the  seventh  day  I  was  chosen  as  one 
of  a  party  to  go  up  to  the  trenches  and  find  out 
the  positions  we  were  to  take  over.  We  went 
by  train  a  few  miles  nearer  the  line,  and  the  guns 
grew  ever  louder.  Then,  after  a  ten-mile  walk, 
we  came  suddenly  to  a  barrier  across  the  road, 
and  a  notice  telling  us  that  from  this  point  parties 
of  not  more  than  six  must  proceed  in  single  file, 
walking  at  the  side  of  the  road.  Our  flesh  began 
to  creep  a  little  as  we  thought  on  the  sinister  need 
for  these  precautions. 

After  about  five  miles  of  this,  on  stepping 
through  a  hedge  we  suddenly  found  ourselves  in  a 
commimication- trench.  This  trench  was  not  very 
deep,  and  a  tall  man's  head  would  project  over  the 
top.  It  was  surprising  how  many  of  us  thought 
we  were  six-footers  and  acquired  a  stoop,  lest  the 
tops  of  our  hats  show. 

You  are  always  nervous  the  first  time  in  a  new 
trench,  as  you  do  not  know  the  danger-spots  and 
are  not  even  quite  sure  in  which  direction  the 
■enemy  lies,  for  the  communication-trench  zigzags 


FIRST  DAYS  IN  FRANCE  ...      165 

so.  However,  you  generally  acquire  a  bravado 
which  you  do  not  feel,  for  you  see  the  old  residents 
walking  unconcernedly  about,  and  you  dare  not 
let  them  see  yoiu-  nervousness.  I  remember  on 
this  morning  we  stepped  right  into  hell.  The 
"boche"  evidently  caught  sight  of  one  of  our 
parties,  and  may  have  thought  that  a  "change 
over"  was  taking  place,  for  we  had  hardly  got  to 
the  front  line  when  he  started  to  pour  shells  upon 
it.  Gaps  were  torn  in  the  communication-trench 
behind  us,  and  shells  were  falling  so  thick  when  we 
turned  into  the  trench  that  we  soon  saw  we  had 
not  chosen  a  favorable  time  to  "talk  dispositions'* 
with  the  battalion  in  the  line.  When  they  real- 
ized, however,  that  we  would  most  likely  relieve 
them  in  a  day  or  two,  they  almost  fell  on  our  necks 
with  joy,  for  they  had  been  five  weeks  in  these 
trenches,  and  thought  that  they  were  there  for 
good.  There  was  little  rejoicing  among  us,  how- 
ever, for,  of  our  party  of  sixteen,  seven  were  killed 
and  four  wounded  in  that  visit  of  a  few  hoiu-s. 
Two  sergeants  (who  had  just  been  chosen  for 
commissions)  were  blown  to  pieces  as  I  was  talk- 
ing to  them.  As  I  turned  to  reply  to  a  question 
addressed  to  me  by  one  of  them  the  shell  came, 
and  in  a  second  there  was  not  enough  left  of 
either  for  identification.  I  picked  myself  up  un- 
hurt. Shells  seem  to  have  a  way  with  them — one 
man  being  taken,  and  the  other  left.  And  it  is  not 
always  the  man  nearest  the  shell  that  is  taken. 


i66  "OVER  THERE" 

They  told  me  to  go  back  to  the  support-trenches 
for  tea;  about  three  hundred  yards,  and  the  com- 
munication-trench that  I  had  to  travel  down  was 
as  tmhealthy  as  any  place  I  have  ever  been  in.  I 
was  told  the  reason  the  enemy  had  its  range  so 
accurately  was  that  it  was  of  their  own  building. 
The  support-trenches  seemed  to  be  getting  more 
shells,  even  than  the  front  Hne,  and  it  looked  as 
if  I  was  walking  out  of  the  frying-pan  into  the 
fire. 

Tea  was  the  last  thing  I  was  wanting,  but,  as 
others  were  eating,  I  had  to  put  up  a  bluff, 
though  I  felt  it  would  be  a  sinful  waste  if  I  were 
to  be  killed  immediately  afterward. 

That  first  day,  however,  took  away  most  of  my 
fears,  and  thereafter  I  got  to  fancy  I  possessed  a 
charmed  Hfe  and  the  bullet  or  shell  was  not  made 
that  would  harm  me. 

The  most  surprising  thing  of  the  life  over  there 
is  the  narrow  escapes  one  has.  There  are  scores 
of  men  who  have  been  in  almost  every  battle  from 
the  beginning,  and  are  still  there,  and  that  day  it 
seemed  truly  as  if  I  walked  in  a  zone  of  safety,  as 
shells  would  fall  in  front  of  me  and  behind,  and 
even  pushed  in  the  parapet  against  which  I  was 
leaning,  and  I  did  not  even  get  shell-shock. 

I  sat  with  my  "dixie"  of  stew  and  lid  of  tea  in 
the  open  doorway  of  a  dugout,  and  the  whiz-bangs 
passed  within  twenty  yards  of  me  and  pelted  me 
with  pieces  of  dirt,  but  nothing  hard  enough  to 


FIRST  DAYS  IN  FRANCE  ...      167 

break  the  skin  struck  me.  We  did  not  learn  much 
about  those  trenches  on  this  visit,  and  were  a  sad 
little  party  that  went  back  to  our  companions  with 
the  news  of  what  had  befallen  our  comrades  and 
the  perils  awaiting  them.  The  two  remaining 
days  spent  in  that  little  village  were  full  of  fore- 
boding. Those  who  had  "gone  west"  were  well 
loved,  and  but  yesterday  so  full  of  the  joy  of 
life. 

Nearly  every  one  wrote  home  those  nights,  as 
it  might  be  for  the  last  time. 

Under  fire  men  are  affected  in  different  ways, 
but  as  for  myself,  I  must  admit  that  after  that 
first  day  I  felt  I  was  not  to  die  on  the  battle- 
field, and  this  gave  me  a  confidence  that  many 
of  my  comrades  thought  was  due  to  lack  of  fear. 
Strange  to  say,  this  feeling  of  security  left  me 
only  on  the  night  I  was  wounded,  many  months 
later.     But  of  that  in  its  proper  place. 

When  we  left  Morbecque,  the  whole  of  the  in- 
habitants turned  out  to  bid  us  farewell.  Many 
of  the  women  wept,  and  though  we  had  only 
been  there  a  week,  we  felt  we  were  leaving  old 
friends. 

We  knew  something  of  what  these  French  people 
had  already  paid  in  defending  that  in  which  we 
were  as  much  concerned.  There  was  not  a  young 
man  in  the  whole  neighborhood,  and  it  was  the 
old  grandfathers  and  grandmothers  that  worked 
the  farms. 


i68  "OVER  THERE" 

Our  hearts  had  wanned  to  France,  before  we 
knew  the  lovable  French  people  themselves,  be- 
cause she  had  borne  the  brunt  in  the  first  years 
of  the  war,  and  her  soil  had  been  ravaged,  and 
her  women  so  imspeakably  maltreated.  And 
it  seemed  that  the  French  people  took  especial 
interest  in  us  AustraUans  who  had  come  twelve 
thousand  miles  to  join  in  this  fight  in  defense  of 
the  world's  liberty. 

This  war  has  done  more  to  make  known  to  each 
other  the  people  of  the  world  than  any  other  event 
in  history.  Many  of  the  French  people  had  hardly 
heard  of  Australia,  but  hereafter  they  will  never 
forget  the  name  of  the  land  whence  came  those 
stalwart  boys  who  marched  singing  through  their 
country;  who  went  to  war  with  laughter,  and 
when  out  of  the  trenches  were  ever  ready  to  give 
a  hand  with  the  crops. 

To  their  poverty  it  seemed  as  if  we  Australians 
were  all  millionaires,  and  our  ready  cash  was  a 
godsend  wherever  we  went.  Although  we  did 
not  receive  on  the  field  our  fuU  six  shillings  a 
day,  we  always  had  more  money  to  spend  than 
the  "Tommies."  In  fact,  frequently  within  a 
few  hours  after  our  arrival  in  a  village  we  would 
buy  out  all  of  its  stores.  The  temptation  must 
have  been  great,  yet  I  never  knew  a  French  farmer 
or  storekeeper  attempt  to  overcharge  us.  All  we 
had,  we  spent,  and  though  we  grumbled  enough 
that  we  were  not  able  to  draw  our  full  pay,  the 


FIRST  DAYS  IN  FRANCE  ...      169 

French  people  thought  that  we  were  simply  roll- 
ing in  money. 

The  brigade  did  not  go  by  train  any  of  the  dis- 
tance, but  marched  the  whole  way  to  the  trenches, 
taking  two  days.  This  part  of  the  country  was 
just  on  the  edge  of  the  Hun  advance  and,  being 
only  visited  by  some  scouting-parties  of  Uhlans, 
had  escaped  most  of  war's  ravages.  We  marched 
through  beautiful  woods,  passed  peaceful  villages, 
and  over  sleepy  canals  that  we  saw  not  again  in 
France  in  many  long  months — most  of  us,  alas, 
never. 

I  do  not  know  whether  they  wanted  to  show 
what  Australians  could  do,  but  we  did  a  forced 
march  that  day  of  eighteen  miles  with  full  packs 
up — eight  of  them  without  a  "breather."  This 
may  not  sound  much,  but  our  boys  were  as  nearly 
physically  perfect  as  it  was  possible  for  men  to  be, 
and  yet  when  we  arrived  at  camp  we  left  a  third 
of  them  on  the  road. 

We  went  into  billets  at  Sailly,  within  five  miles 
of  the  firing-line,  where  we  found  the  civilian  pop- 
ulation going  about  their  avocations  as  though 
war  were  a  thousand  miles  away.  There  were 
plenty  of  ruins  and  even  great  holes  in  the  streets 
that  showed  the  Hun  had  not  only  the  power, 
but  the  will,  to  send  these  death-dealing  missiles 
among  the  women  and  children  still  living  there. 
I  thought  the  boys  were  too  tired  from  their 
march  to  want  to  look  'round  the  town,  but  after 


I70  "OVER  THERE" 

"hot  tea"  had  been  served  out,  they  were  like 
new  men,  and  went  out  to  explore  the  place,  as 
though  they  merely  had  had  a  morning  stroll. 
Hot  tea  is  to  the  Australian  what  whiskey  is  to 
the  Scotchman,  his  best  "pick  me  up." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  BATTLE  OF   FLEURBAIX  .  .  . 

Next  morning  it  was  "going  in"  with  a  ven- 
geance. We  did  not  enter  the  same  trenches 
where  I  had  been  a  few  days  previously,  but  about 
a  mile  farther  south.  These  trenches  were  our 
"home"  for  over  three  months,  so  let  me  try  and 
describe  how  they  were  built  and  looked  to  us 
on  that  day  of  entry.  In  this  part  of  the  line, 
near  the  borders  of  Belgium,  you  cannot  dig  down, 
the  soil  is  so  marshy,  so  the  trenches  are  what 
is  known  as  breastwork.  They  are  bmlt  up  about 
six  feet  from  the  level  of  the  groimd,  a  solid  wall 
of  sand-bags,  ten  to  twenty  feet  thick.  This  will 
stand  the  hit  of  all  but  the  heaviest  shells,  but  is 
an  unmistakable  target  if  the  enemy  artillery  have 
observation  at  all.  The  support  and  front  line 
trenches  were  divided  every  two  himdred  yards, 
by .  communication- trenches,  built  in  the  same 
way,  except  that  the  communication-trench  had 
two  sides.  These  communication- trenches  were 
distinguished  by  such  names  as  "Pinney's  Ave.,'* 
"V.  C.  Ave.,"  which  latter  was  supposed  to  be 
built  on  the  spot  where  Michael  O'Leary  won  the 
first  Victoria  Cross  of  the  war.     Others  were  called 

171 


172  "OVER  THERE" 

"Bond  Street,"  "Brompton  Ave.,"  and  "Mine 
Ave." 

Later  on  my  brigade  held  the  length  of  trench 
that  included  all  these,  from  Mine  Ave.  to  Bond 
Street,  over  one  thousand  yards;  but  for  the  bat- 
tle and  the  first  ten  days  we  only  held  about 
three  hundred  yards,  using  the  three  communica- 
tion-trenches— Pinney's,  Brompton,  and  V.  C. 

I  had  a  good  deal  of  apprehension  as  the  bri- 
gade marched  in,  remembering  the  reception  our 
reconnoitring  party  had  received.  If  "Fritz"  had 
spotted  a  score  of  us  he  could  not  well  avoid 
noticing  a  thousand,  though  we  were  broken  into 
little  parties  of  six,  that  moved  along  the  gutter 
in  single  file.  But  he  must  have  been  asleep  this 
day,  for  the  "change  over"  was  completed  with 
little  attention  from  him  in  the  way  of  shells. 

Leading  up  to  "Pinney's  Ave.,"  there  was  a 
short  length  of  communication-trench  very  ap- 
propriately called  "Impertinence  Sap,"  for  it  was 
merely  a  ditch,  three  feet  deep,  floored  with 
"duck  boards."  I  could  never  get  the  reason 
why  this  trench  was  built.  It  only  afforded  pro- 
tection for  one's  legs,  which  is  the  part  of  the 
body  one  would  rather  be  hit  in  if  one  must  be 
hit  at  all.  The  goose-flesh  always  crept  around 
my  head  when  I  walked  along  this  sap,  for,  strange 
to  say,  my  head  seemed  to  be  the  most  valuable 
part  of  me,  and  at  night  the  machine-gun  bullets 
used  to  whistle  through  the  low  hedge  that  ran 


BATTLE  OF  FLEURBAIX  ...      173 

alongside  it  and  frequently  struck  sparks  from 
the  flints  on  the  old  road  just  a  yard  or  two  away. 

1  suppose  I  used  that  sap  two  hundred  times, 
always  with  misgivings,  for  I  have  seen  more  than 
a  score  of  men  punctured  along  its  length. 

All  these  parts  were  unhealthy.  The  Rue  de 
Bois,  the  street  that  ran  parallel  to  the  firing- 
trench,  about  a  thousand  yards  behind  the  front 
line,  was  always  under  indirect  machine-gim  fire, 
yet  was,  nevertheless,  used  regularly  every  night 
by  our  transports.  It  was  surprising  how  few 
mules  were  killed.  Many  times  have  I  skipped, 
as  the  bullets  struck  sparks  around  my  feet. 

After  a  while  we  got  to  know  that  "Fritz"  had 
a  regular  cut-and-dried  system  in  the  shelling  of 
these  trenches.  He  always  took  Mine  Ave., 
Brompton  Ave.,  and  Pinney's  Ave.  alternately, 
and  we  later  on  saved  a  number  of  lives  by  having 
a  sentry  at  the  entrance  to  these  communication- 
trenches  to  give  warning  to  use  the  other  trench 
while  this  one  was  being  shelled.  Weeks  later  I 
worked  out  the  enemy's  bombardment  system 
more  thoroughly,  and  had  such  notices  as  this 
posted:  "Pinney's  Ave.  dangerous  on  Mondays, 

2  to  6  p.  M.,"  "V.  C.  -unhealthy  Tuesday  after- 
noons," and  so  on.  I  know  I  saved  my  own  life 
several  times  by  watching  "Fritz's"  times  and 
seasons.  I  am  quite  sure  that  each  battery  "over 
yonder"  had  a  book  that  laid  down  a  certain 
number  of  roimds  to  be  fired  at  a  certain  range 


174  "OVER  THERE" 

on  Mondays,  and  so  on  for  every  day  in  the 
week.  And  every  relieving  battery  would  take 
over  this  "book  of  instructions."  Of  course 
there  were  times  when  "Fritz"  "got  the  wind 
up"  (lost  his  nerve),  and  then  he  would  shell  any- 
thing indiscriminately.  The  god  of  the  German 
is  Method,  and  his  goddess  System,  and  it  hurt 
his  gunners  sorely  when  we  tried  something  new, 
and  made  him  depart  from  some  long-predevised 
plan. 

However,  these  were  discoveries  of  a  later  date 
than  the  battle  which  wiped  out  about  70  per 
cent  of  our  strength. 

We  had  not  been  two  days  in  the  trenches  be- 
fore we  knew  that  we  were  destined  for  an  at- 
tack on  the  trenches  opposite,  and  we  had  not 
had  time  even  to  know  the  way  about  our  own 
lines.  Few  of  us  had  even  had  a  glimpse  of  No 
Man's  Land,  or  sight  of  the  fellow  across  the 
street  whom  we  were  to  fight. 

Our  guns  immediately  began  to  get  busy.  In 
fact,  too  busy  for  our  liking,  for  they  had  not  yet 
got  the  correct  range.  This  was  before  the  days 
of  total  aeroplane  supremacy,  and  the  battery 
commander  in  those  days  had  not  an  observer 
flying  above  where  his  shells  were  falling,  inform- 
ing him  of  the  slightest  error. 

At  any  rate,  we  soon  began  to  discover  that 
the  shells  that  were  bursting  among  us  were 
many  of  them  coming  from  behind.     This  made 


BATTLE  OF  FLEURBAIX  ...      175 

us  very  uncomfortable,  for  we  were  not  protected 
against  our  own  artillery-fire;  and  accidents  will 
sometimes  happen,  do  what  you  can  to  avoid 
them.  Our  first  message  over  the  'phone  was 
very  polite.  "We  preferred  to  be  killed  by  the 
Germans,  thank  you,"  was  all  we  said  to  the  bat- 
tery commander.  But  as  his  remarks  continued 
to  come  to  us  through  the  air,  accompanied  by  a 
charge  of  explosive,  and  two  of  our  officers  being 
killed,  our  next  message  was  worded  very  differ- 
ently, and  we  told  him  that  "if  he  fired  again  we 
would  turn  the  machine-guns  on  to  them."  I 
was  sent  back  to  make  siue  that  he  got  the  mes- 
sage. I  took  the  precaution  to  take  back  with 
me  one  of  his  "duds"  (imexploded  shells)  as  evi- 
dence. At  first  he  told  me  I  was  crazy — that  we 
were  getting  German  cross-fire,  and  that  his  shells 
were  falling  two  hundred  yards  in  front  of  us.  I 
brought  out  my  souvenir,  and  asked  him  if  he 
had  ever  seen  that  before.  He  said:  "For  God's 
sake,  biuy  it,"  but  I  told  him  it  was  going  to 
divisional  headquarters,  and  that  his  little  mis- 
take had  already  cost  several  lives.  This  battery 
did  not  belong  to  our  division. 

Our  company  commanders  gathered  us  in 
small  groups  and  carefully  explained  the  plan 
of  attack.  We  were  to  take  the  three  lines  of 
German  trenches  that  were  clearly  discernible  on 
the  aeroplane  photograph  which  was  shown  us; 
the  first  wave  was  to  take  the  first  trench,  the 


176  "OVER  THERE" 

second  jumping  over  their  heads  and  attacking 
the  second  German  line,  the  third  wave  going 
on  to  the  third  German  line.  When  all  the  Ger- 
mans had  been  killed  in  the  first  trench,  those 
left  of  the  first  wave  were  to  follow  to  the  third 
line.  Unfortunately  this  photograph  misled  us, 
as  one  of  the  supposed  trenches  proved  to  be  a 
ditch,  and  a  great  number  of  men  were  lost 
by  going  too  far  into  enemy  territory,  seeking 
the  supposed  third  line. 

I  have  seen  an  actual  photograph  taken  by  an 
aeroplane  during  this  battle,  that  shows  a  fight 
going  on  five  miles  behind  the  German  lines. 
Many  of  the  boys  had  sworn  not  to  be  taken 
prisoners,  and  though  they  knew  they  were  cut 
off,  they  fought  on  imtil  every  last  one  of  them 
was  killed. 

The  Germans  were  thoroughly  aware  of  our  in- 
tentions to  attack.  Bad  weather  made  a  post- 
ponement for  a  couple  of  days  advisable,  and 
there  had  been  so  much  artillery  preparation  that 
the  enemy  had  time  to  get  ready  for  us. 

Considering  the  short  time  that  our  own  artil- 
lery had  been  in  their  positions,  and  that  they 
did  not  know  a  few  days  previously  the  range  of 
the  enemy's  positions,  their  work  was  very  thor- 
oughly done.  In  most  cases  the  wire  had  been 
well  cut,  and  the  enemy's  front-line  trenches  were 
badly  smashed  about. 

The  Germans  must  have  had  some  spies  behind 


BATTLE  OF  FLEURBAIX  ...      177 

our  lines,  for  they  knew  the  actual  moment  of 
attack,  and  our  feints  failed  to  deceive  them. 
Before  the  real  attack  the  bombardment  would 
cease  for  a  moment  or  two,  whistles  being  blown, 
orders  shouted,  and  bayonets  shown  above  the 
top  of  the  parapet.  The  idea  was  that  the  Ger- 
mans would  then  man  their  parapet  to  meet  our 
attack,  the  artillery  again  opening  fire  on  the 
trench.  They  failed  to  appear,  however,  imtil 
we  actually  went  over  the  top,  then  the  machine- 
gtms  and  rifles  swept  a  hail  of  bullets  in  our  faces, 
like  a  veritable  blizzard. 

Nothing  coiild  exceed  the  bravery  of  those  boys. 
The  first  wave  went  down  like  "wheat  before 
the  reaper."  When  the  time  came  for  the  second 
wave  to  go  over  there  was  not  a  man  standing  of 
the  first  wave,  yet  not  a  lad  faltered.  Each 
gazed  at  his  watch  and  on  the  arranged  tick  of 
the  clock  leaped  over.  In  many  cases  they  did 
not  get  any  farther  than  the  first  wave.  The 
last  wave,  though  they  knew  each  had  to  do  the 
work  of  three,  were  in  their  places  and  started  on 
their  forlorn  hope  at  the  appointed  moment. 

This  battle  was  a  disaster.  We  failed  to  take 
the  German  trenches,  but  it  was  like  two  other 
failures,  the  defense  of  Belgium  and  the  attack 
of  the  Dardanelles — a  failure  so  glorious  as  to  fill 
a  man  with  pride  that  he  was  enabled  to  play  a 
part  in  it.  In  this  battle  we  so  smashed  five 
divisions  of  Bavarian  guards  that  it  was  months 


»» 


178  "OVER  THERE 

before  they  got  back  into  the  trenches.  Had  they 
gone  to  Verdun  at  that  time  it  might  have  meant 
its  fall,  as  they  were  the  flower  of  the  German 
army. 

In  places  both  first  and  second  German  lines 
were  taken,  but  in  others  we  did  not  get  across 
No  Man's  Land. 

It  was  not  that  certain  companies  fought  better 
than  others,  but  here  and  there  were  unexpected 
obstacles.  In  one  place  No  Man's  Land  was 
only  fifty  yards  across,  while  elsewhere  it  was 
three  hundred  yards.  There  was  a  creek  running 
diagonally  across  in  one  section,  too  wide  to  leap, 
too  deep  to  ford,  and  the  only  place  where  it  was 
bridged  was  so  marked  by  the  German  machine- 
guns  that  the  dead  were  piled  in  heaps  about  it. 

Those  who  actually  reached  the  German 
trenches  were  too  few  to  consolidate,  and  the 
German  artillery  soon  began  to  take  a  heavy  toll 
of  them,  knowing  the  range  of  their  own  trenches 
to  a  yard.  So  these  had  to  come  back  again,  and 
when  night  fell  we  were  back  in  our  old  trenches 
— rather  a  few  of  us  were;  most  of  our  division 
lay  out  in  No  Man's  Land. 

All  were  not  dead,  but  we  had  no  men  to  help 
the  wounded.  We  had  no  stretchers,  and  those 
that  were  alive,  imwotmded,  were  so  fatigued  as 
to  be  hardly  able  to  stand  upright.  But  we  could 
not  stand  the  thought  of  the  fellows  out  there 
without  help,  and  we  crawled  among  them,  tak- 


BATTLE  OF  FLEURBAIX  ...      179 

ing  the  biscuits  and  water  from  the  dead  and  giv- 
ing them  to  the  wounded.  We  could  only  reach 
a  few  of  them,  and  we  crawled  back  at  daylight, 
ciirsing  our  impotence,  and  fearing  what  the  day 
might  bring  to  these  our  comrades,  lying  helpless 
in  full  view  of  the  brutal  enemy. 

The  sight  of  our  trenches  that  next  morning  Is 
burned  into  my  brain.  Here  and  there  a  man 
could  stand  upright,  but  in  most  places  if  you  did 
not  wish  to  be  exposed  to  a  sniper's  bullet  you 
had  to  progress  on  yo\ir  hands  and  knees.  In 
places  the  parapet  was  repaired  with  bodies — 
bodies  that  but  yesterday  had  housed  the  per- 
sonality of  a  friend  by  whom  we  had  warmed 
ourselves.  If  you  had  gathered  the  stock  of  a 
thousand  butcher-shops,  cut  it  into  small  pieces 
and  strewn  it  about,  it  would  give  you  a  faint  con- 
ception of  the  shambles  those  trenches  were. 

One  did  not  ask  the  whereabouts  of  brother  or 
chum.  If  we  did  not  see  him,  then  it  were  best 
to  hope  that  he  were  of  the  dead. 

It  were  folly  to  look  over  the  parapet,  for  nearly 
every  shell-hole  contained  a  woimded  man,  and, 
poor  fellow,  he  would  wave  to  show  his  where- 
abouts; and  though  we  could  not  help  him,  it 
would  attract  the  attention  of  the  Huns,  who 
still  had  shells  to  spare — ^so  that  the  woimded 
might  not  fight  again. 

I  have  found  the  Bavarian  even  worse  than  the 
Prussian,  and  this  day,  and  the  next,  and  again, 


i8o  "OVER  THERE '» 

did  they  sweep  No  Man's  Land  with  machine- 
guns  and  shrapnel,  so  as  to  kill  the  wounded. 

When  darkness  came  the  second  night,  we  had 
organized  parties  of  rescue,  but  we  still  had  prac- 
tically no  stretchers,  and  the  most  of  the  men 
had  to  be  carried  in  on  our  backs. 

I  went  out  to  the  bridge,  and  in  between 
machine-gun  bursts  began  to  pull  down  that 
heap  of  dead.  Not  all  were  dead,  for  in  some 
of  the  bodies  that  formed  that  pyramid  life  was 
breathing.  Some  were  conscious  but  too  weak 
to  struggle  from  out  that  weight  of  flesh.  Ma- 
chine-guns were  still  playing  on  this  spot,  and 
after  we  had  lost  half  of  our  rescuing  party,  we 
were  forbidden  to  go  here  again,  as  live  men 
were  too  scarce. 

But  the  work  of  rescue  did  not  cease.  Two 
hundred  men  were  carried  in  from  a  space  less  in 
area  than  an  acre. 

One  lad,  who  looked  about  fifteen,  called  to  me: 
"Don't  leave  me,  sir."  I  said,  "I  will  come  back 
for  you,  sonny,"  as  I  had  a  man  on  my  back  at 
the  time.  In  that  waste  of  dead  one  woimded 
man  was  like  a  gem  in  sawdust — just  as  hard  to 
find.  Four  trips  I  made  before  I  found  him,  then 
it  was  as  if  I  had  foimd  my  own  young  brother. 
Both  his  legs  were  broken,  and  he  was  only  a 
schoolboy,  one  of  those  overgrown  lads  who  had 
added  a  couple  of  years  in  declaring  his  age  to 
get  into  the  army.     But  the  circumstances  brought 


BATTLE  OF  FLEURBAIX  ...      i8i 

out  his  youth,  and  he  clung  to  me  as  though  I 
were  his  father.  Nothing  I  have  ever  done  has 
given  me  the  joy  that  the  rescuing  of  that  lad  did, 
and  I  do  not  even  know  his  name.  He  was  the 
only  one  who  did  not  say:  "Take  the  other  fellow 
first." 

There  were  men  who  were  forty-eight  hours 
without  food  or  drink,  without  having  their 
wounds  dressed,  knowing  that  the  best  they  had 
to  hope  for  was  a  bullet.  That  the  chances  were 
they  would  die  of  starvation  or  exposure,  and  yet 
again  and  again  would  they  refuse  to  be  taken 
until  we  should  look  to  see  if  there  was  not  some 
one  alive  in  a  neighboring  shell-hole.  They  would 
tell  us  to  "look  in  the  drain,  or  among  those 
bushes  over  there."  During  the  day  they  had 
heard  a  groan.  A  groan,  mind  you,  and  there 
were  men  there  with  legs  off,  and  arms  hanging 
by  a  skin,  and  men  sightless,  with  half  their  face 
gone,  with  bowels  exposed,  and  every  kind  of  un- 
mentionable wounds,  yet  some  one  had  groaned. 
Why,  some  had  gritted  teeth  on  bayonets,  others 
had  stuffed  their  tunics  in  their  mouths,  lest  they 
should  groan.  Some  one  had  written  of  the  Aus- 
tralian soldier  in  the  early  part  of  the  war,  "that 
they  never  groan,''  and  these  men  who  had  read 
that  would  rather  die  than  not  live  up  to  the  repu- 
tation that  some  newspaper  correspondent  had 
given  them. 

I  lay  for  half  an  hour  with  my  arms  around  the 


l82  "OVER  THERE 


»> 


neck  of  a  boy  within  a  few  yards  of  a  German 
"listening  post,"  while  the  man  who  was  with  me 
went  back  to  try  and  find  a  stretcher.  He  told 
me  he  had  neither  mother  nor  friend,  was  brought 
up  in  an  orphanage,  and  that  no  one  cared  whether 
he  lived  or  died.  But  our  hearts  rubbed  as  we 
lay  there,  and  we  vowed  lifelong  friendship.  It 
does  not  take  long  to  make  a  friend  under  those 
circumstances,  but  he  died  in  my  arms  and  I  do 
not  know  his  name. 

There  was  another  man  who  was  anxious  about 
his  money-belt;  perhaps  it  contained  something 
more  valuable  than  money.  I  went  back  for  it, 
stuffing  it  in  my  pocket,  and  then  forgot  all  about 
it.  When  I  thought  of  it  again  the  belt  was  gone, 
and  the  owner  had  gone  off  to  hospital.  I  do  not 
know  who  he  was,  and  maybe  he  thinks  I  have 
his  belt  still. 

One  of  the  most  self-forgetful  actions  ever 
performed  was  by  Sergeant  Ross.  We  found  a 
man  on  the  German  barbed  wire,  who  was  so 
badly  wounded  that  when  we  tried  to  pick  him 
up,  one  by  the  shoulders  and  the  other  by  the 
feet,  it  almost  seemed  that  we  would  pull  him 
apart.  The  blood  was  gushing  from  his  mouth, 
where  he  had  bitten  through  lips  and  tongue,  so 
that  he  might  not  jeopardize,  by  groaning,  the 
chances  of  some  other  man  who  was  less  badly 
wounded  than  he.  He  begged  us  to  put  him  out 
of  his  misery,  but  we  were  determined  we  would 


BATTLE  OF  FLEURBAIX  ...      183 

get  him  his  chance,  though  we  did  not  expect 
him  to  live.  But  the  sergeant  threw  himself 
down  on  the  ground  and  made  of  his  body  a 
human  sledge.  Some  others  joined  us,  and  we 
put  the  wounded  man  on  his  back  and  dragged 
them  thus  across  two  himdred  yards  of  No  Man's 
Land,  through  the  broken  barbed  wire  and  shell- 
torn  ground,  where  every  few  inches  there  was  a 
piece  of  jagged  shell,  and  in  and  out  of  the  shell- 
holes.  So  anxious  were  we  to  get  to  safety  that 
we  did  not  notice  the  condition  of  the  man  imder- 
neath  until  we  got  into  our  trenches;  then  it  was 
hard  to  see  which  was  the  worst  wounded  of  the 
two.  The  sergeant  had  his  hands,  face,  and  body 
torn  to  ribbons,  and  we  had  never  guessed  it,  for 
never  once  did  he  ask  us  to  "go  slow"  or  "wait 
a  bit."  Such  is  the  stuff  that  men  are  made  of. 
It  sounds  incredible,  but  we  got  a  woimded 
man,  still  alive,  eight  days  after  the  attack.  It 
was  reported  to  me  that  some  one  was  heard  call- 
ing from  No  Man's  Land  for  a  stretcher-bearer, 
but  I  suspected  a  German  trap,  for  I  did  not  think 
it  possible  that  any  man  could  be  out  there  alive 
when  it  was  more  than  a  week  after  the  battle  and 
there  had  been  no  men  missing  since.  However, 
we  had  to  make  sure,  and  I  took  a  man  out  with 
me  named  Private  Mahoney;  also  a  ball  of 
string.  We  still  heard  the  call,  and  as  it  came 
from  nearer  the  German  trenches  than  ours  we 
knew  they  must  hear  as  well.    When  we  got  near 


1 84  "OVER  THERE" 

the  shell-hole  from  which  the  sound  came  I  told 
Mahoney  to  wait,  while  I  crawled  round  to  ap- 
proach it  from  the  German  side.  I  took  the  end 
of  the  ball  of  string  in  my  hand,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  signal  back,  and  from  a  shell-hole  just  a  few 
yards  away  I  asked  the  man  who  he  was  and  to 
tell  me  the  names  of  some  of  his  officers.  As  he 
seemed  to  know  the  names  of  all  the  officers  I 
crawled  into  the  hole  alongside  him,  though  I 
was  still  suspicious,  and  signalled  back  to  my 
companion  to  go  and  get  a  stretcher. 

As  soon  as  I  had  a  good  look  at  the  poor  fellow 
I  knew  he  was  one  of  ours.  His  hands  and  face 
were  as  black  as  a  negro's,  and  all  of  him  from 
the  waist  down  was  beneath  the  mud.  He  had 
not  strength  to  move  his  hands,  but  his  "voice 
was  a  good  deal  too  strong, "  for  he  started  to  talk 
to  me  in  a  shout:  "It's  so  good,  matey,  to  see  a 
real  live  man  again.  I've  been  talking  to  dead 
men  for  days.  There  was  two  men  came  up  to 
speak  to  me  who  carried  their  heads  under  their 
arms!" 

I  whispered  to  him  to  shut  up,  but  he  would 
only  be  quiet  for  a  second  or  two,  and  soon  the 
Germans  knew  that  we  were  trying  to  rescue 
him,  for  the  machine-gim  bullets  chipped  the 
edge  of  the  hole  and  showered  us  with  dirt.  In 
about  half  an  hour  Mahoney  returned  with  the 
stretcher,  but  we  had  to  dig  the  poor  fellow's 
limbs  out,  and  only  just  managed  to  get  into  the 


BATTLE  OF  FLEURBAIX  ...       185 

next  hole  dxiring  a  pause  in  the  machine-gun 
bursts.  To  cap  all,  our  passenger  broke  into  song, 
and  we  just  dropped  in  time  as  the  bullets  pinged 
over  us.  These  did  not  worry  our  friend  on  the 
stretcher,  nor  did  the  bimip  hurt  him,  for  he 
cheerfully  shouted  "Down  go  my  horses!"  We 
gagged  him  after  that  and  got  him  safely  in,  but  the 
poor  fellow  only  lived  a  couple  of  days,  for  blood- 
poisoning  had  got  too  strong  a  hold  of  his  frail 
body  for  medical  skill  to  avail.  His  name  I  have 
forgotten,  and  the  hospital  records  would  only  state : 
"Private  So-and-so  received  [a  certain  date]; 
died  [such  a  date].     Cause  of  death — tetanus." 


CHAPTER  XX 
DAYS  AND  NIGHTS  OF  STRAFE 

We  had  only  been  a  few  days  in  the  trenches 
in  France  when  I  was  sent  for  by  the  General. 
I  went  in  fear  and  trembling,  wondering  what 
offense  I  had  committed ;  but  I  soon  did  not  know 
whether  I  was  standing  on  my  heels  or  my  head,  for 
he  said  to  me:  "I  have  recommended  you  for  a 
commission,  and  you  are  immediately  to  take 
over  the  duties  of  intelligence  or  scouting  officer." 
This  was  a  big  step  up,  as  I  was  only  a  corporal, 
though  I  had  been  acting  in  charge  of  a  position 
over  the  heads  of  many  who  were  my  seniors  in 
rank. 

Now  began  for  me  many  adventurous  and 
happy  days,  for  my  job  afforded  me  a  great  deal 
of  independence  and  scope  for  initiative,  and  I 
was  able  to  plan  and  execute  many  little  stimts 
that  must  have  irritated  Fritz  a  good  deal.  When 
I  was  returning  at  dawn  from  my  night's  pere- 
grinations, I  would  generally  meet  the  brigadier 
on  his  round  of  inspection,  and  no  matter  in  what 
mood  he  was  in  I  always  had  some  story  of  strafe 
to  tell  him  that  would  crease  his  face  in  smiles, 
and  I  saved  many  another  officer  from  the  bully- 
ing that  was  coming  his  way. 

i86 


DAYS  AND  NIGHTS  OF  STRAFE    187 

Our  brigadier  was  very  popular  because  of  his 
personal  bravery.  One  morning  I  was  showing 
him  the  remains  of  some  Germans  I  had  blown 
up,  and  in  his  eagerness  he  stuck  his  head  and 
shoulders,  red  tabs  and  all,  over  the  trenches, 
when — ping  ! — a  sniper's  bullet  struck  the  bag 
within  an  inch  of  his  head  and  covered  him  with 
dirt.  "Pompey"  roared  with  laughter  and  was 
in  good  himior  for  the  rest  of  the  day.  On  one 
occasion  in  Egypt  this  same  General  issued  orders 
that  no  men  were  to  wear  caps.  He  said  he  didn't 
care  where  we  got  hats  from,  but  that  we  were 
all  old  enough  soldiers  to  obtain  one  somehow. 
He  would  punish  any  soldier  who  appeared  on 
parade  next  day  without  a  hat,  and  the  only  one 
whose  head  was  minus  a  hat  next  morning  was 
the  brigadier  himself !  He  laughed  and  said  that 
the  man  who  pinched  his  hat  had  better  not  get 
caught,  that's  all ! 

My  chief  business  as  intelligence  officer  was  to 
keep  an  eye  on  Fritz  and  find  out  what  he  was 
up  to.  I  had  a  squad  of  trained  observers  who 
were  posted  in  certain  vantage-points  called  O. 
Pips  (O.  P.— Observation  Post).  These  O.  Pips 
were  mostly  on  top  of  tall  trees  or  the  top  of  some 
old  ruined  farmhouse.  From  these  "pozzies" 
(positions)  a  good  deal  of  the  coimtry  behind 
the  enemy  lines  could  be  seen,  and  the  observers, 
who  were  given  frequent  reliefs  so  that  they  would 
not  become  stale,  had  their  eyes  glued  to  it  through 


i88  "OVER  THERE" 

a  telescope.  Every  single  thing  that  happened 
was  written  down,  including  the  velocity  and 
direction  of  the  wind;  the  information  from  all 
these  and  other  sources  being  summarized  by 
myself  into  a  daily  report  for  G.  H.  Q. 

There  was  one  0.  Pip  on  top  of  a  crazy  ruin 
that  was  used  for  many  months  without  the  Ger- 
mans suspecting.  It  really  hardly  looked  as  if 
it  would  support  the  weight  of  a  sparrow.  I  used 
to  wonder  oftentimes  how  I  was  going  to  get  up 
there,  and  then  by  force  of  habit  would  find  my- 
self lying  alongside  the  observer  sheltering  be- 
hind two  or  three  bricks.  From  this  pozzie  one 
of  my  boys  saw  a  German  Staff  car  pass  Crucifix 
Corner.  This  was  a  stretch  of  a  hundred  yards 
of  road  which  we  could  plainly  see  where  a  crucifix 
was  standing,  though  the  church  that  once  cov- 
ered it  had  been  entirely  destroyed.  The  car  was 
judged  to  contain  some  officers  of  very  high  rank, 
both  from  the  style  of  the  car  and  the  colors  of 
the  uniforms.  When  I  got  this  information  I 
prepared  to  make  that  road  unhealthy  in  case 
they  should  return.  I  called  up  our  sniping  bat- 
tery, and  got  them  to  range  a  shell  to  be  sure 
they  would  not  miss.  At  five  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon my  waiting  was  rewarded,  and  just  by  the 
pressing  of  a  button  eight  shells  landed  on  that 
car,  and  sent  its  occupants  "down  to  the  father- 
land." We  received  news  about  that  time  that 
one  of  the  Kaiser's  sons  was  killed,  and  though 


DAYS  AND  NIGHTS  OF  STRAFE    189 

it  was  denied  later,  in  my  dreams  I  often  fancy 
that  he  might  have  been  in  that  car. 

There  was  a  landmark  behind  the  German 
lines  in  this  sector  known  as  "the  hole  in  the 
wall."  It  was  marked  on  all  our  maps  used  by 
the  artillery  for  ranging,  and  was  the  object  on 
which  we  set  our  zero  lines  to  get  bearings  of 
other  objects.  One  day  "the  hole  in  the  wall" 
disappeared,  and  there  was  much  wailing  and 
gnashing  of  teeth.  Did  the  Germans  destroy  it 
or  was  it  the  rats  that  undermined  its  founda- 
tions? I  fancy  it  was  like  the  celebrated  "One 
Horse  Shay" — every  brick  in  the  wall  that  sur- 
rounded the  hole  had  been  wearing  away  for 
years,  and  at  the  stroke  of  Fate  all  crumbled  into 
dust.  We  were  able  to  do  without  our  old  friend, 
as  Fritz  very  kindly  built  up  in  the  churchyard 
at  Fromelles  a  large  red  earthwork  that  could 
be  seen  for  miles,  and  which  our  big  guns  sought 
imsuccessfully  to  destroy  but  made  the  entrance 
to  it  very  unhealthy. 

We  had  some  crack  sharpshooters  or  snipers  in 
trees  and  also  on  top  of  ruins,  but  took  care  never 
to  have  them  near  our  observation  posts  lest  they 
should  draw  fire.  I  had  one  man  who  was  a  King's 
prize-winner,  and  he  must  have  accounted  for 
well  over  a  hundred  of  the  enemy,  some  of  whom 
may  have  thought  themselves  quite  secure  when 
they  exposed  but  a  portion  of  their  body  eight 
hundred  or  a  thousand  yards  from  our  trenches. 


190  "OVER  THERE" 

Through  the  wasting  of  skilled  men  in  unsuitable 
work  which  is  prevalent  in  all  otir  armies,  this 
man  was  sent  forward  in  a  bayonet  charge  and 
killed.  In  his  own  job  he  was  worth  a  battalion 
but  in  a  charge  of  no  more  value  than  any  other 
man.  The  snipers  and  observers  make  effective  use 
of  camouflage,  and  have  uniforms  and  rifle-covers 
to  blend  with  their  background — spotted  for 
work  among  trees  with  foliage,  d  la  Mr.  Leopard 
— striped  when  in  long  grass  or  crops  like  Stripes 
of  the  jimgle.  We  have  suits  resembling  the  bark 
of  a  tree,  and  some  earth-colored  for  ploughed 
groimd,  also  one  made  from  sand-bags  for  the  top 
of  the  parapet. 

I  could  fill  a  volimie  with  the  happenings  dur- 
ing our  many  months  in  these  trenches. 

We  had  great  sport  through  the  use  of  a  dummy 
trench.  This  was  a  ditch  which  we  dug  about 
seventy-five  yards  behind  our  front  Hne  running 
parallel  to  it.  We  would  light  fires  in  this  about 
meal-times,  and  now  and  again  diu-ing  the  day 
send  a  file  of  men  along  it  who  would  occasionally 
expose  their  bayonets  to  view  above  the  top. 
This  ditch  would  appear  to  the  German  aero- 
planes exactly  like  a  trench,  and  as  they  used 
their  second  line  for  a  supervision  and  living  trench 
they  probably  thought  we  did  the  same.  Our 
boys  laughed  to  see  most  of  the  German  shells 
exploding  on  the  dummy  trench. 

There  were  one  or  two  occasions  in  which  Fritz 


DAYS  AND  NIGHTS  OF  STRAFE     191 

broke  the  unwritten  law  that  there  should  be  an 
armistice  during  meal-times.  We  soon  cured  him 
of  this,  however,  as  we  systematically  for  a  week 
put  out  his  cook's  fires  with  rifle-grenades.  There- 
after both  sides  were  able  to  have  their  meals 
in  peace  though  we  took  care  to  change  otir  hour 
from  one  to  two  instead  of  twelve  to  one. 

Fritz's  system  now  and  again  got  on  our  nerves. 
It  was  deadly  monotonous,  always  knowing  when 
his  severest  shelling  would  start  and  I  have  known 
the  boys  run  races  with  the  shells,  driven  to  take 
foolish  risks  by  sheer  ennui.  We  always  expected 
some  shells  on  "V.  C.  House"  at  4  p.  m.,  and  were 
rarely  disappointed.  The  men  off  duty  would 
assemble  in  front  of  the  old  house  and  at  the  sound 
of  the  first  shell  race  for  the  shelter  of  a  dugout 
about  a  hundred  yards  away.  Generally  they 
would  all  tumble  in  together  and  in  their  excite- 
ment could  not  decide  who  won  the  race,  and  so 
woidd  have  it  all  over  again.  The  officers  were 
ordered  to  stop  these  "races  with  death"  for  there 
were  some  killed,  but  they  would  break  out  now 
and  again  when  the  last  man  who  was  killed  had 
been  forgotten. 

The  bombing  officer  had  a  good  deal  of  sport 
with  his  rifle-grenades,  and  as  I  was  hand  in 
glove  with  him  I  enjoyed  some  of  his  fun.  A 
favorite  place  for  the  firing  of  our  rifle-grenades 
was  at  Devon  Avenue,  for  most  of  Fritz's  retalia- 
tion came  to  the  Tommies  whose  flank  joined 


192  "OVER  THERE" 

ours  at  this  point.  One  day  their  major  came 
along  to  us  in  a  great  rage,  and  wanted  to  know 
why  we  were  always  stirring  up  trouble — couldn't 
we  let  well  enough  alone?  He  complained  in 
the  end  to  our  brigadier,  but  the  answer  he  got 
was:  "What  are  you  there  for?  What's  your 
business?"  After  this,  whenever  we  had  our 
strafe  on  this  flank,  they  would  squeeze  up  to 
their  centre  leaving  fifty  yards  unmanned  be- 
tween us.  These  men  were  brave  enough,  and 
in  a  raid  the  same  major  held  the  trench  with 
great  bravery  under  a  severe  bombardment  and 
attack  by  a  strong  force. 

We  also  had  an  armored  train  that  we  were 
very  proud  of.  At  least,  that  is  what  we  called 
it,  but  it  was  only  a  Httle  truck  with  six  rifles  fast- 
ened on  it  for  firing  grenades.  We  ran  this  along 
rails  down  the  trench,  and  would  fire  a  salvo  from 
one  place  and  then  move  to  another  by  the  time 
Fritz  had  waked  up  and  was  replying  with  "pine- 
apples and  flying-fish,"  as  his  rifle-grenades  were 
dubbed. 

One  day  I  was  ordered  to  locate  the  enemy's 
"minenwerfer"  positions,  as  his  "minnies"  were 
getting  on  our  nerves.  These  huge  shells,  al- 
though they  very  seldom  caused  casualties,  for 
they  are  very  inaccurate,  would  nevertheless 
make  the  ground  tremble  for  miles  as  they  buried 
themselves  sometimes  fifty  feet  deep  in  the  soft 
ground  before  they  exploded.     When  these  were 


DAYS  AND  NIGHTS  OF  STRAFE    193 

about  our  boys  would  watch  for  them  as  they 
could  plainly  be  seen  in  the  air.  We  would  watch 
their  ascent,  sometimes  partly  through  a  cloud, 
and,  as  the  shell  wabbled  a  good  deal,  we  could 
not  be  exactly  sure  where  it  was  going  to  land 
until  it  was  on  the  downward  curve,  then  we 
would  scatter  like  sheep,  and  as  it  would  gen- 
erally be  two  or  three  seconds  before  it  went  off, 
we  had  time  to  reach  a  safe  distance.  The  real 
trouble  was  that  no  one  could  sleep  when  they 
were  coming  over,  as  each  of  them  had  all  the 
force  of  an  earthquake.  I  have  picked  up  pieces 
of  the  shell  two  feet  long  by  a  foot  wide,  jagged 
like  a  piece  of  galvanized  iron  that  had  been  cut 
off  with  an  axe. 

Well,  I  had  to  locate  the  position  of  these 
mine-throwers,  and  the  easiest  way  to  do  it  was 
to  make  them  fire  and  have  observers  at  different 
points  to  get  bearings  on  the  exact  position  from 
which  the  shells  were  thrown.  They  were  easy 
to  see,  as  they  were  accompanied  for  the  first 
fifty  yards  with  showers  of  sparks  like  sky- 
rockets. But  Fritz  can  be  very  obstinate  on 
occasions,  and  all  our  teasing  with  rifle-grenades 
failed  to  make  him  retaliate  with  anything  larger 
than  "pineapples"  (light  trench -mortars).  In 
desperation,  I  sent  to  the  brigade  bombing  officer 
for  some  smoke  and  gas-bombs.  Even  these 
failed  to  rouse  his  anger  sufficiently  when — Eu- 
reka!— we    discovered    some    "lachrymose"    or 


194  "OVER  THERE" 

"tear"  bombs.  These  did  the  trick  and  over 
came  a  "rum- jar"  as  the  "minnie"  shells  are 
generally  called.  I  had  eight  batteries  on  the 
wire,  and  we  gave  that  "minnie"  position  a 
pretty  warm  time.  By  the  same  methods  I 
located  nine  of  these  German  trench-mortars  on 
that  front.  Later  on  we  captured  one  of  them 
and  I  was  surprised  to  see  what  a  primitive  affair 
it  was.  It  consisted  of  a  huge  pipe  made  of 
wooden  staves  bound  round  and  round  with  wire. 
The  charge  is  in  a  can  like  an  oil-drum  and 
dropped  in  the  pipe,  and  then  the  shell  dropped 
in  on  top  of  it.  A  fuse  is  attached,  burning 
several  seconds  so  as  to  allow  the  crew  to  get 
well  out  of  the  way,  as  their  risk  is  as  great  as 
those  they  fire  it  at.  When  I  had  seen  the  gun, 
I  was  not  surprised  that  rarely  did  they  know 
within  a  hundred  yards  of  where  the  shell  was 
going  to  land,  only  expecting  to  get  it  somewhere 
behind  our  lines. 

While  I  am  talking  of  trench-mortars,  I  must 
tell  you  about  the  "blind  pig."  This  was  a  huge 
shell  with  which  we  frequently  got  on  Fritz's 
nerves.  When  it  was  first  used  there  was  some 
doubt  about  its  accuracy  and  the  infantry  were 
cleared  out  of  the  trenches  in  its  immediate  front 
before  it  was  fired.  The  first  shot  landed  on  our 
support  trenches,  the  next  in  No  Man's  Land, 
and  the  third  on  Fritz's  front  line.  Each  time 
it  seemed  as  if  a  double-powered  Vesuvius  were 


DAYS  AND  NIGHTS  OF  STRAFE     195 

in  eruption,  and  when  the  artillery  got  to  know 
its  pranks  there  was  no  need  for  us  to  get  out 
from  under.  The  aeroplanes  reported  that  when 
the  "blind  pigs"  went  over,  some  Fritzes  could 
be  seen  running  half  an  hour  afterward.  Fritz 
does  not  like  anything  new;  for  example,  they  ap- 
pealed to  the  world  against  our  brutality  in  using 
"tanks."  Christmas  Day,  191 6,  one  of  our  avia- 
tors, with  total  disregard  of  the  rules  of  war, 
dropped  a  football  on  which  was  painted  "A 
Merry  Xmas"  into  a  French  town  infested  by 
Germans.  As  it  struck  the  street  and  bounced 
up  higher  than  the  roofs  they  could  be  seen  scut- 
tling like  rats,  and  maybe,  to-day,  that  airman 
is  haimted  by  the  ghosts  of  those  who  died  of 
heart-failure  as  a  result  of  his  fiendishness. 

This  airman  is  a  well-known  character  among 
the  troops  in  Flanders,  known  to  all  as  "the  mad 
major."  His  evening  recreation  consists  in  fly- 
ing but  a  few  himdred  feet  above  the  enemy's 
trenches,  and  raking  them  with  his  machine-gim 
to  show  his  absolute  contempt  for  their  marks- 
manship. I  have  seen  them  in  impotent  fiuy 
fire  at  him  every  missile  they  had,  including  "pine- 
apples" and  "minnies";  but  he  bears  a  charmed 
life,  for,  though  he  retimied  and  repeated  his  per- 
formance four  times  for  oiu:  benefit,  he  did  not 
receive  a  scratch.  I  went  over  the  German  lines 
with  him  for  instruction  in  aerial  observation. 
He  said  to  me:  "Do  you  see  that  battery  down 


196  "OVER  THERE" 

there  ?"  I  replied  "No  !"  His  next  remark  was, 
"I'll  take  you  down,"  and  he  shot  down  about 
five  hundred  feet  nearer.  We  were  getting  pasted 
by  "archies"  much  more  than  was  pleasant,  so 
when  he  next  shut  off  his  engine,  to  speak  to  me, 
I  did  not  wait  for  his  question  but  assured  him 
that  I  could  see  the  German  battery  quite  plainly. 
I  hope  the  recording  angel  will  take  into  accoimt 
the  extenuating  circumstances  of  that  lie. 

We  had  a  "spring  gun "  or  "catapult "  that  came 
very  near  preventing  this  book  ever  being  written. 
On  one  occasion  we  placed  a  bomb  in  the  cup, 
but  instead  of  taking  the  spring  and  lever  out, 
which  was  the  correct  way,  we  tried  a  new  ex- 
periment of  holding  the  lever  down  with  two  nails 
which  would  release  the  spring  as  soon  as  it  was 
let  off.  Unfortunately,  the  bomb  rolled  off  at 
our  feet,  and  we  had  four  seconds  to  get  to  a  safe 
distance.  Some  of  us  got  bad  bruises  on  our  fore- 
heads as  we  dived  for  an  open  dugout  as  though 
we  ourselves  had  been  thrown  from  a  catapult. 
On  another  occasion  we  used  Mills  grenades  with 
a  grooved  base  plug.  To  our  alarm,  the  first 
one  exploded  with  a  beautiful  shrapnel  effect 
just  above  our  heads.  I  am  sure  a  piece  passed 
through  my  hair  but  I  could  not  wear  a  gold  braid 
for  a  woimd  because,  not  even  with  a  candle, 
could  the  doctor  find  a  mark. 

Our  tunnellers  were  always  mining  and  we 
would  see  them  by  day  and  night  disappearing 


DAYS  AND  NIGHTS  OF  STRAFE    197 

into  mysterious  holes  in  the  ground,  and  it  was 
only  when  Messines  Ridge  disappeared  in  fine 
dust  that  we  understood  that  their  groping  in 
underground  passages  was  not  in  vain.  They 
would  sometimes  tell  us  exciting  tales  of  fights 
in  the  dark  with  picks  against  enemy  miners; 
and  now  and  again  we  would  be  roused  by  ex- 
plosions when  one  side  blew  in  on  the  other  and 
formed  a  new  crater  in  No  Man's  Land.  With 
their  instruments  our  miners  discovered  that 
the  head  of  one  of  the  enemy  galleries  was  imder 
the  headquarters  dugout  of  the  English  regiment 
on  our  right.  I  went  along  to  inform  them.  With 
excitement  in  my  voice  I  said  to  the  officer  in 
charge:  "Do  you  know  that  there  is  a  mine  imder 
here  ?"  "Bai  Jove,  how  jolly  interesting  !  Come 
and  have  a  drink."  I  said:  "Not  in  here,  thank 
you."  "Why?  It  won't  go  off  to-day,"  he  said. 
"Anyway,  we  are  being  relieved  to-morrow,  so  it 
won't  worry  us,  but  we'll  be  sure  and  leave  word 
for  the  other  blighters." 

There  was  a  dugout  in  our  own  sector  in  which 
were  heard  mysterious  tappings,  but  though  we 
had  an  experienced  miner  sleep  in  it  he  reported 
that  the  sounds  were  not  those  of  mining  opera- 
tions. Maybe  it  was  the  rats,  but  we  gave  that 
dugout  a  wide  berth,  as  some  one  suggested  that 
it  was  haimted,  and  even  in  the  trenches,  better 
the  devil  you  know  than  the  devil  you  don't 
know! 


198  "OVER  THERE" 

We  managed  to  have  a  good  deal  of  comfort 
in  these  trenches,  all  things  considered.  We  even 
rigged  up  hot  baths  in  our  second  Hne.  The  men 
were  able  every  second  day  to  have  a  hot  bath, 
get  clean  imderclothing,  and  have  a  red-hot  iron 
passed  over  their  xmiforms,  which  was  the  only 
effective  method  I  have  known  of  keeping  us 
reasonably  free  from  body-vermin.  These  baths 
turned  us  out  like  new  men,  as  the  AustraHan 
craves  his  daily  shower.  I  doubt  if  there  are 
any  troops  in  the  world  who  take  such  pains  for 
cleanliness.  Wherever  we  camp  we  rig  up  our 
shower-baths  as  a  first  essential,  and  in  some  of 
the  French  villages  the  natives  would  gather  round 
these  Hessian  enclosed  booths  staring  at  the  bare 
legs  showing  beneath  and  jabbering  excitedly 
about  the  madness  of  these  people  who  were  so 
dirty  that  they  needed  a  bath  every  day. 

Although  this  sector  of  trench  was  during  eight 
months  known  as  "a  quiet  front,"  as  no  actual 
offensive  took  place,  yet  there  was  never  a  day 
or  night  free  from  peril,  and  all  the  time  our 
strength  in  nimibers  was  being  sapped — men 
left  us  "going  west"  or  said  good-bye  as  they 
went  to  hospital,  and  sometimes  would  disappear 
in  No  Man's  Land— gone,  none  knew  where.  We 
received  reinforcements  that  did  not  keep  pace 
with  our  losses  and  during  all  the  time  were  never 
once  up  to  half  strength.  Always  we  were  on 
the  watch  to  worst  our  enemy,  and  he  was  by 


DAYS  AND  NIGHTS  OF  STRAFE     199 

no  means  napping.  Gas  was  often  used  and  sen- 
tries were  posted  with  gas  alarm-signals  not  only 
in  the  trenches  but  in  the  streets  of  the  villages 
behind  the  lines.  If  by  night  or  day  the  whitish 
vapor  was  seen  ascending  from  the  trenches  op- 
posite, then  such  a  hullabaloo  of  noises  would 
pass  along  the  trenches  and  through  the  streets 
of  the  towns  as  to  make  the  spirits  of  the  bravest 
quail,  and  woe  betide  even  the  Httle  child  who 
at  that  signal  did  not  instantly  cover  his  face 
with  the  hideous  gas-mask.  These  noises  were 
made  chiefly  with  klaxon  horns,  though  an  empty 
shell-case  struck  by  iron  was  foimd  to  give  out 
a  ringing  sound  that  could  plainly  be  heard  above 
even  the  screech  and  crump  of  the  shells. 

Our  gas-masks  are  quite  efficient  protection, 
and  I  have  been  a  whole  day  imder  gas  without 
injury,  by  keeping  the  cloth  in  my  mask  damp 
all  the  time.  Men  sometimes  lose  their  lives 
through  lack  of  confidence  in  their  masks.  The 
chemical  causes  an  irritation  of  the  mucous  mem- 
brane, and  they  fancy  they  are  being  gassed,  and 
in  desperation  tear  them  off.  It  is  the  duty  of 
an  officer  to  decide  when  the  danger  has  passed 
and  test  the  air.  I  remember  on  one  occasion 
I  warned  some  men  who  were  opening  their  coats 
that  the  danger  had  not  passed,  but  when  I  re- 
turned I  found  they  had  removed  their  masks  and 
three  of  them  were  very  severely  gassed.  We  are 
always  on  the  lookout  for  gas,  and  when  the  wind 


200  "OVER  THERE" 

is  dangerous  a  "gas-alert"  signal  is  given,  when 
every  man  wears  his  mask  in  a  ready  position  so 
that  it  can  be  donned  without  a  second's  delay. 

I  was  really  sorry  to  leave  those  trenches.  So 
many  months  was  I  there  that  they  were  some- 
thing like  a  home  to  me,  and  who  knew  what 
was  awaiting  one  in  another  and  an  unknown 
section?  I  knew  every  shell-hole  in  No  Man's 
Land,  and  constant  observation  of  the  enemy 
methods  enabled  me  to  anticipate  liis  moves. 
I  felt  that  nowhere  else  would  I  be  so  successful. 
I  even  parted  with  a  rat  that  I  had  tamed  in 
my  dugout  with  a  feeHng  of  regret,  though  on 
all  his  kin  I  waged  a  bitter  war,  spending  many 
hours  when  I  ought  to  have  been  sleeping  in  shoot- 
ing them  with  my  automatic  as  they  came  into 
the  light  of  the  dugout  doorway.  It  was  there, 
too,  that  I  experimented  with  the  enemy  grenades, 
and  I  remember  once  nearly  scaring  an  Austra- 
lian nigger  white.  He  was  the  only  colored  man 
in  oiu-  brigade,  and  was  just  passing  in  front  of 
the  dugout  as  I  threw  a  detonator  on  to  the  hard 
metal  of  an  old  road  a  few  yards  away.  Evidently 
he  was  surprised  at  being  bombed  when  he  thought 
he  was  among  friends !  He,  however,  received 
nothing  worse  than  the  fright. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
THE  VHLAGE  OF  SLEEP 

There  was  little  element  of  surprise  about 
the  "Somme"  offensive.  Although  there  must 
have  been  some  uncertainty  in  the  mind  of  the 
German  Staff  as  to  just  where  the  blow  would 
be  struck,  for  our  papers  were  filled  with  rumors 
of  a  drive  in  the  north,  and  troops  and  big  gims 
were  moved  north  every  day  and  withdrawn  at 
night,  yet  the  intensity  of  the  artillery  bombard- 
ment around  Albert,  which  day  by  day  waxed 
ever  greater,  proclaimed  in  a  shout  that  here  was 
the  point  on  which  our  punch  would  strike. 

The  selection  of  this  place  for  an  offensive  was 
an  indication  that  it  was  not  the  policy  of  the 
Allies  to  attempt  to  drive  the  German  army  out 
of  France,  but  that  their  evident  intention  was 
to  defeat  the  enemy  practically  in  the  present 
trenches.  The  German  hne  in  France  and  Bel- 
giimi  is  shaped  like  the  letter  L,  and  the  Somme 
battle  was  waged  at  the  angle  of  the  letter  just 
where  the  line  was  farthest  from  Germany.  Of 
course  it  would  be  madness  to  attempt  to  finish 
the  war  on  German  soil,  if  to  do  it  we  should 
have  to  devastate  one-eighth  of  France  and  its 
fairest  and  richest  province. 

20I 


202  "OVER  THERE 


»» 


These  smashes  are  rapidly  destroying  the  mo- 
rale of  the  enemy,  as  well  as  killing  many  of 
them,  and  will  lead  to  the  collapse  of  the  army 
pretty  much  where  they  are  now.  If  they  at- 
tempt an  offensive  on  the  western  front,  where 
our  armament  is  now  so  strong,  it  will  hasten 
the  end.  The  British  artillery  had  at  the  end 
of  191 7  a  reserve  of  fifty  million  of  shells,  and 
pity  help  the  German  army  if  they  bump  into 
them.  The  British  offensive  of  191 6  was  hast- 
ened somewhat  by  the  need  of  relieving  the 
pressure  on  Verdim,  and  though  the  first  blow 
was  not  as  powerful  as  it  would  have  been  if  de- 
layed a  few  months,  it  accomplished  much  more 
than  was  expected. 

Up  the  British  line  there  crept  news  of  big 
doings  down  south.  There  was  a  new  sound  in 
the  air — a  distant  continued  thunder  that  was 
different  from  any  previous  sound — the  big  drimis 
of  the  devil's  orchestra  were  booming  an  accom- 
paniment that  was  the  motif  of  hell's  cantata. 
Up  the  line  ran  the  nmior  of  a  battle  intenser 
than  any  yet  fought — more  guns  being  massed 
in  a  few  miles  than  the  world  had  ever  seen  be- 
fore. Into  every  heart  crept  the  dread  of  what 
might  await  us  down  there,  and  to  every  mind 
came  the  question:    "When  are  we  going?" 

Close  behind  rumor  came  marching  orders,  and 
as  we  left  our  old  trenches  south  of  Armentieres 
we  said  good-bye    to  scenes   that   had  become 


THE  VILLAGE  OF  SLEEP  203 

homelike,  and  turned  our  faces  south  to  make 
that  "rendezvous  with  death"  in  the  dread  un- 
known to  which  duty  called  us. 

But  there  were  weeks  of  peaceful  scenes  that 
seemed  to  us  like  a  forgotten  melody  of  love  and 
home  and  peace,  and  the  train  that  bore  us  out 
of  the  war  zone  seemed  to  carry  us  into  another 
world,  but  though  the  feast  to  our  eyes  was  pleas- 
ant and  Hke  "far-off  forgotten  things  and  pleasures 
long  ago,"  we  were  not  borne  thither  on  downy 
couches.  Never  were  there  seats  more  uncom- 
fortable than  the  floors  of  those  French  trucks, 
and  we  occupied  them  for  days.  When  now  and 
again  the  train  stopped  and  we  could  unbend 
ourselves  for  a  short  stroll,  it  was  like  the  interval 
in  a  dull  play.  We  had  taken  our  cookers  with 
us  on  the  train,  but  the  French  railway  authori- 
ties would  not  allow  us  to  have  a  fire  burning 
while  the  train  was  moving,  so  we  would  have  to 
draw  onto  a  siding  that  our  meals  might  be  cooked. 
Now  and  again  at  these  stops  there  would  be 
canteens  run  by  English  and  American  women, 
and  the  home-cooking  and  deHcacies  they  smil- 
ingly gave  us  were  a  reminder  of  the  barracking 
of  the  womenfolk  that  makes  courage  and  en- 
durance of  men  possible.  These  are  the  untir- 
ing heroines  that  uphold  oiu"  hands  till  victory 
shall  come,  and  so  the  women  fight  on.  There 
were  French  women,  too,  who  brought  us  fruit 
and    gingerbread,    and    with    eyes    and    strange 


204  "OVER  THERE" 

tongue  unburdened  hearts  full  of  gratitude  and 
prayer. 

How  glad  we  were  to  gaze  on  the  earth,  smiling 
through  fields  of  waving  com  and  laughing  with 
peaceful  homes,  with  the  church-spires  still  point- 
ing heavenward,  after  so  many  months  of  as- 
sociating with  the  scars  of  blackened  fields  and 
the  running  sores  festering  on  earth's  bosom,  once 
so  fair,  where  churches  had  swooned  and  in  lost 
hope  laid  their  finger  in  the  dust. 

But  all  journeys  end  in  time,  and  one  night 
instead  of  eating  we  loaded  ourselves  like  the 
donkeys  in  Egypt  and  tramped  off  to  the  village 
of  our  sojourning.  The  billeting  officer  and  guide 
were  several  days  ahead  of  us  and  they  met  us 
at  the  train  and  told  us  it  was  only  three  miles 
to  the  village,  but  after  we  had  tramped  five  we 
lost  all  faith  in  their  knowledge  of  distance.  It 
was  "tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  the  boys  are  march- 
ing, "  for  three  miles  more,  and  when  we  had  given 
up  all  hope  of  eating  or  resting  again  we  saw,  at 
the  bottom  of  a  hill,  silhouetted  against  the  violet 
sky  the  spire  of  a  church,  but  we  did  not  breathe 
our  hopes  lest  it  might  vanish  like  a  dream.  Soon 
we  came  to  a  house,  and  instinctively  the  column 
halted,  but  it  was  "On,  on,  ye  brave !"  yet  aTlittle 
longer,  then  suddenly  a  company  was  snatched 
up  by  the  darkness.  Lucky  dogs !  They  had 
found  some  comer  in  which  to  curl  up  and  sleep, 
which  was  all  we  longed  for,  as  we  were  now  too 


THE  VILLAGE  OF  SLEEP  205 

tired  to  even  care  about  eating.  Chunk  after 
chunk  was  broken  off  the  column  and  almost 
all  were  swallowed  by  stables  and  bams,  or  houses 
that  were  not  much  superior,  when  there  loomed 
ahead  some  iron  gates,  and  like  the  promise  of  a 
legacy  came  the  news  that  this  was  the  head- 
quarters billet;  and  never  did  the  sight  of  four 
walls  offer  to  weary  man  such  a  fortune  of  rest 
and  shelter. 

In  the  morning  we  discovered  we  were  in  the 
village  of  Ailly-sous-Ailly,  the  sleepiest  place  on 
earth.  It  nestled  at  the  bottom  of  a  cup  and 
was  hidden  by  trees ;  no  passer  in  the  skies  would 
glimpse  roof  or  street.  No  vehicle  entered  it 
from  outside  and  the  war  was  only  hearsay.  I 
think  the  hum  of  its  labor  can  only  be  heard  by 
the  bees,  and  its  drowsy  evening  prayers  are 
barely  audible  to  the  angels.  Its  atmosphere 
crept  over  our  spirits  like  ether  and  we  did  little 
else  but  sleep  for  the  week  that  we  were  there. 
Parades  would  be  ordered,  but  after  a  short  time 
of  drilling  in  the  only  field  of  the  village,  we  would 
realize  the  sacrilege  of  our  exertion,  and  the  parade 
would  be  dismissed.  Thereafter  the  only  prepa- 
ration for  the  day  ahead  that  was  persisted  in 
consisted  of  lectures,  when  the  droning  voice  of 
the  officer  would  frequently  be  accompanied  by 
snores  from  his  men.  My  duties  were  to  give  in- 
struction in  scouting,  but  I  seemed  to  be  sounding 
a  motor-horn  in  slumberland  when  I  counselled 


2o6  "OVER  THERE" 

my  boys  to  "always  keep  their  eyes  skinned"  as 
the  genie  of  the  village  was  weighting  their  eye- 
Hds  with  lead.  I  spoke  in  the  language  of  different 
worlds  when  I  said:  "A  scout's  body  should  never 
be  seen  to  move"  (and  the  village  hummed  its 
applause),  "but  his  eyes  should  be  never  still — " 
(and  there  was  almost  a  hiss  that  came  through 
the  trees). 

For  the  first  day  or  two  we  did  not  see  the  in- 
habitants of  the  village  at  all.  Much  puzzled 
at  this  we  questioned  the  maire,  and  he  told  us 
that  they  were  very  much  afraid  because  we  were 
Australians — that  there  had  been  much  alarm 
when  they  heard  we  were  coming.  Perhaps  they 
thought  we  were  black,  and  into  their  dulled  ears 
had  crept  a  whisper  of  the  fierceness  in  battle 
of  these  giants  called  "Anzac."  It  was  not  long, 
however,  before  curiosity  drew  them  from  their 
hiding-places  and  our  laughing  good  nature  won 
their  confidence.  It  was  not  siu-prising  that  our 
lavish  spending  of  money  should  have  roused 
their  cupidity,  for  never  had  they  seen  so  much 
wealth  before,  and  never  had  we  seen  such  poverty. 
Any  of  our  privates  was  able  to  buy  out  the  stock 
of  a  whole  store,  which  was  not  worth  more  than  a 
pound  or  two.  One  of  them,  to  satisfy  his  hunger, 
on  the  first  night  walked  into  one  of  these  stores, 
but  when  he  saw  the  stock  his  face  was  a  picture 
of  blank  disappointment.  "I  want  something  to 
eat,"  he  said,  "and  I  think  I'll  take  all  you've 


THE  VILLAGE  OF  SLEEP  207 

got.  It  may  make  a  fnut  salad  or  something." 
There  were  only  one  or  two  that  could  converse 
with  us  in  anything  but  a  language  of  signs,  but 
the  old  maire  spoke  English  of  the  kind  that 
Queen  Elizabeth  used,  and  he  acted  as  interpreter 
for  the  whole  village. 

When  they  imderstood  that  we  were  willing 
to  pay  for  any  damage  done,  the  bills  came  in  in 
sheaves.  Some  boys,  in  ignorance,  cut  up  for 
firewood  an  old  cedar  log  that  was  an  heirloom. 
You  would  have  thought  it  was  made  of  gold 
from  the  value  put  upon  it  by  its  owner.  Fifteen 
francs  was  asked  for  a  bundle  of  straw  that  some 
boys  made  a  bed  of,  and  some  of  our  Australian 
horses  did  not  know  any  better  than  to  eat  the 
thatch  off  one  old  lady's  bedroom,  which  not  only 
cost  us  the  price  of  the  thatch  when  it  was  new 
but  also  damages  for  fright.  There  was  a  gap 
in  the  hedge  that  I  had  noticed  when  we  entered 
the  town,  but  it  cost  us  ten  francs  all  the  same. 
These  people  were  not  impatriotic,  but  to  them 
it  looked  like  the  chance  of  a  lifetime  to  acquire 
wealth,  and  I  have  no  doubt  we  pensioned  sev- 
eral of  them  for  life. 

The  war  was  to  them  like  a  catastrophe  in  an- 
other world,  and  AustraHans  did  not  travel  farther 
to  fight  than  in  their  imagination  did  the  sons 
of  this  village  when  they  went  to  the  trenches 
less  than  a  hundred  miles  away.  I  discovered 
one  day  how  deep  the  knife  of  war  had  cut  when 


2o8  "OVER  THERE" 

I  spoke  to  a  grandmother  and  daughter  working 
a  large  farm,  as  with  dumb,  imcomprehending 
pain  in  their  eyes  they  showed  me  the  pictiu'e  of 
son-in-law  and  husband  who  would  never  retiun. 
Rights  of  peoples  and  the  things  for  which  na- 
tions strive  had  no  meaning  to  these  two,  but 
from  out  the  dark  had  come  a  hand  and  dragged 
from  them  the  fulness  of  life,  leaving  only  its 
empty  shell. 

Our  headquarters  billet  was  in  the  vacated 
house  of  the  village  squire.  He  was  a  major  in 
the  French  army,  and  had  taken  with  him  the 
young  men  of  the  village  committed  to  his  charge. 
His  wife  had  gone  to  nurse  in  a  hospital  and  they 
had  put  their  children  in  a  convent.  He  then 
left  the  key  in  his  door,  saying  that  his  house  and 
its  contents  were  at  the  service  of  the  officers  of 
any  British  regiment  that  should  come  that  way. 
This  house  was  a  baronial  castle,  but  in  its  furnish- 
ing knew  as  little  of  modem  conveniences  as 
Hampden  Court  of  William  IV.  We  did  not 
smile,  however,  at  the  antimacassars,  wax  flowers, 
and  samplers,  nor  the  scattered  toys  of  the 
nursery,  for  we  were  guests  of  a  kindly  host  who, 
though  absent  himself,  had  intrusted  to  our  care 
his  household  gods  and  was  a  comrade  in  arms. 

Houses,  especially  old  houses,  absorbed  the  per- 
sonality of  the  dwellers  therein,  and  I  fancy  that 
our  host  is  not  unknown  to  me.  Were  I  to  meet 
him  I  would  recognize  him  at  once,  for  his  spirit 


THE  VILLAGE  OF  SLEEP  209 

dwelt  with  us  in  his  home,  and  my  prayer  is  that 
when  he  returns  he  will  not  find  that  temple  tainted 
by  the  spirit  of  any  alien  who  occupied  it  in  his 
absence. 

The  village  church  slumbered  in  the  centre  of 
the  village,  and  was  its  sluggish  heart.  No  dis- 
cord or  schism  of  sect  or  creed  ever  disturbed  its 
atmosphere.  Unquestioned  was  its  hold  on  the 
faith  of  men,  women,  and  children.  Not  more 
qiiietly  did  the  dead  rest  beneath  the  stones  of 
the  churchyard  than  did  the  worshippers  who 
knelt  before  the  carved  wooden  images  of  the 
saints,  trusting  in  their  protection  and  receiving 
from  their  placid  immobility  a  benediction  of 
peace.  The  cure  from  a  neighboring  town  only  vis- 
ited the  village  once  a  quarter,  and  the  old  lady 
who  kept  the  key  was  very  reluctant  to  let  us  in ; 
but  when  the  maire  knew  of  our  desire,  he  brought 
us  the  key  that  we  might  view  it  at  our  leisure. 
Its  pews  were  thick  with  dust,  the  images  were 
chipped  and  broken,  some  saints  were  minus 
nose  or  arm,  the  vestments  in  the  open  cupboard 
were  moth-eaten  and  tawdry,  dried  flowers  lay 
on  tombs  of  the  village  great ;  but  its  atmosphere 
was  one  of  peace,  and  it  was  not  difficult  to  realize 
that  many  had  carried  therein  their  burden  of 
grief  and  unrest  and  left  it  behind  them,  soothed 
on  the  bosom  of  Mother  Church,  like  a  fretting 
child. 

But  it  is  not  the  business  of  soldiers  to  sleep, 


2IO  "OVER  THERE" 

and  suddenly  came  the  awakening  with  the 
soiind  of  the  hundreds  of  motor-buses  that  were 
to  carry  us  into  the  noise  and  devastation  of 
hell !  We  marched  up  to  the  rim  of  the  village, 
and  amid  the  smell  of  gasolene,  the  tooting  of 
the  horns,  and  the  roar  of  the  engines  we  boarded 
these,  thirty  to  a  bus,  and  rumbled  on  toward 
the  greatest  noise  and  flame  and  fire  that  has 
ever  torn  the  atmosphere  asunder,  outdoing  any 
earthquake,  thunderstorm,  or  tornado  that  nature 
has  ever  visited  upon  humanity. 

On  this  journey  we  saw  more  of  the  tremendous 
organization  needed  to  equip  and  feed  an  army 
than  we  had  been  able  to  visualize  before.  For 
thirty  miles  we  were  a  part  of  a  stream  of  motor 
vehicles  flowing  in  one  direction  passing  a  never- 
ending  stream  going  the  other  way.  Through  the 
city  of  Amiens  we  went  without  stopping.  With 
longing  eyes  we  gazed  from  the  buses  which 
hours  of  bimiping  and  rolling  on  poor  roads  had 
made  to  us  torture-chambers.  How  gladly  would 
we  have  strolled  through  its  streets  gazing  on 
the  pretty  girls  and  gaping  at  the  novelty  of  its 
quaint  buildings  and  the  imusual  ware  in  its 
shop- windows. 

Later  on  I  was  a  week  in  the  hospital  here 
with  a  sprained  ankle,  and  I  had  a  chance  to 
explore  this  lovely  city  of  Picardy.  Its  cathedral 
was  a  never-ending  source  of  interest,  and  not 
a  day  passed  during  my  stay  that  I  did  not  hob- 


THE  VILLAGE  OF  SLEEP  211 

ble  on  crutches  through  its  dim  aisles  and  wor- 
ship the  beauty  of  its  statues.  There  is  one 
statue  called  "The  Weeping  Angel"  which  is 
world-famous,  and  I  have  gazed  at  it  for  hours, 
feeling  its  beauty  steal  over  me  like  a  psalm.  There 
was  always  music  stealing  gently  through  the  air, 
but  like  a  blow  in  the  face  were  the  walls  of  sand- 
bags protecting  the  carving  on  the  choir-stalls 
and  the  thousands  of  statues  on  the  huge  doors. 
The  grotesque  hideousness  of  the  gargoyles  gave 
a  touch  of  humor  that  was  not  incongruous  to 
religion,  but  these  sand-bags  were  such  an  eye- 
sore against  the  beauty  of  the  carved  poems  that 
suggested  what  an  intrusion  into  God's  fair  world 
is  the  horror  of  war. 

Several  times  while  I  was  in  Amiens  the  Ger- 
man aeroplanes  came  over  and  bombed  the  city. 
Opposite  the  hospital  a  three-story  house  col- 
lapsed like  a  pack  of  cards,  burying  seventeen 
people  in  its  ruins.  I  saw  a  French  airman  bring 
down  one  boche  by  a  clever  feat.  He  evidently 
could  not  aim  upward  to  his  satisfaction,  so 
he  turned  upside  down,  and  while  flying  thus, 
brought  down  his  opponent. 

Through  Amiens  the  buses  carried  us  within 
a  few  miles  of  Albert,  which  was  within  range  of 
the  German  artillery.  It  is  in  Albert  that  the 
remarkable  "hanging  Virgin"  is  to  be  seen.  The 
cathedral  and  tower  have  been  almost  practically 
destroyed,  but  still  on  top  of  the  tower  remains 


212  "OVER  THERE" 

uninjured  the  figure  of  the  Virgin  and  Child.  A 
shell  has  struck  its  base,  and  over  the  town  at 
right  angles  to  the  tower  leans  the  Virgin  im- 
ploringly holding  the  babe  outstretched  as  though 
she  were  supplicating  its  protection.  The  French 
people  say  that  the  statue  will  fall  when  the  war 
ends,  but  some  materialistic  British  engineers, 
fearing  the  danger  to  life  in  its  fall,  have  shored 
and  braced  it  up. 

This  is  similar  to  the  miracles  of  the  crucifixes 
that  are  found  standing  unharmed  amid  scenes 
of  desolation.  I  have  seen  several  of  them  with- 
out a  bullet  mark  upon  them  when  every  building 
in  the  vicinity  has  been  laid  in  ruins.  I  know 
two  cases  in  which  there  is  not  one  stone  remain- 
ing of  the  church,  yet  the  crucifix  that  was  inside 
stands  in  untouched  security.  There  are  always 
those  who  see  in  these  things  a  supernatural  agency 
as  some  saw  "angels  at  Mons,"  and  as  for  me  I  do 
not  seek  to  explain  them,  knowing  that  there  are 
more  things  in  heaven  and  earth  than  are  dreamed 
of  in  our  philosophy. 

I  am  reluctant  to  leave  this  chapter  with  its 
peaceful  memories,  for  it  is  the  antechamber  of 
hell.  There  is  little  here  that  hints  of  the  brim- 
stone and  fire  just  through  the  door.  But  our 
path  lies  that  way  and  we  must  pass  on. 


CHAPTER   XXII 
THE  SOMME 

The  battle  of  the  Somme  lasted  eight  months, 
and  never  since  the  days  of  chaos  and  darkness 
has  a  portion  of  the  earth  been  under  the  sway 
of  such  forces  of  destruction.  Not  even  the  Flood 
itself  so  completely  destroyed  the  habitations  of 
man.  Flourishing  towns  were  powdered  into  brick- 
dust,  thousands  of  acres  of  forest  were  reduced 
to  a  few  blackened  stimips,  and  every  foot  of 
groimd  was  blasted  and  churned  and  battered 
again,  while  every  yard  was  sown  thick  with  bullets 
more  malignant  than  the  seeds  planted  by  Jason. 
To-day  nature  is  busy  trying  to  hide  the  evidence 
of  the  hate  of  man,  and  long  grass  and  poppies 
cover  the  blackened  soil  and  grow  in  the  shell- 
holes,  imtil  only  in  the  memory  of  the  men  who 
strove  nakedly  in  its  desolation  and  death  will 
the  knowledge  of  that  area  as  it  was  for  those 
eight  long  months  remain.  If  he  visits  it  again 
the  poppies  and  the  grass  will  fade,  and  it  will 
appear  to  him  once  more  as  the  ploughed  land  of 
demons,  and  grinning  at  him  in  every  yard  will 
be  the  skulls  of  the  countless  unburied  that  there 
lie.  The  other  birds  will  shun  it,  for  there  are 
no  trees,  but  the  lark  will  still  sing  on,  as  this 

313 


214  "OVER  THERE" 

brave-hearted  bird  continues  to  do  even  when  the 
guns  are  booming. 

Australian  blood  has  sanctified  much  of  that 
soil,  and  Australian  bravery  has  monopolized 
some  of  its  names.  As  surely  as  Gallipoli  will 
Pozieres  and  Thiepval  and  Bapaume  be  asso- 
ciated with  the  name  and  achievement  of  Aus- 
tralians in  the  minds  of  readers  of  the  history  of 
the  great  war.  These  are  places  that  will  ever 
be  names  of  honor  and  glory  in  the  thought  of 
the  Australian  people  as  will  be  Flers  to  New 
Zealand  and  Delville  Wood  to  South  Africa. 

At  Pozieres  the  First  and  Second  Divisions 
demonstrated  that  the  abandon  and  tenacity 
against  odds  that  secured  a  footing  on  the  Gal- 
lipoli Peninsula  was  still  the  special  prerogative 
of  the  care-free  lads  from  these  South  Sea  nations. 
Our  own  artillery  was  unable  effectively  to  silence 
the  fire  of  the  German  batteries,  and  wave  after 
wave  melted  like  snow  in  the  sun,  yet  the  uncon- 
querable spirit  drove  the  remainder  on  until  the 
positions  were  taken  and  held.  There  were 
wounded  men  who  dragged  themselves,  not  back 
to  their  own  lines  for  attention,  but  forward  toward 
the  enemy  so  that  they  might  be  able  to  strike 
at  least  one  blow  ere  they  died.  There  were  others 
that  had  their  wounds  dressed  and  then  returned 
to  the  fighting.  No  one  left  the  line  that  day 
who  could  help  it,  or  his  name  would  have  been 
remembered  as  an  outstanding  exception  among 


THE  SOMME  215 

the  many  who,  wounded  again  and  again,  and 
faint  from  loss  of  blood,  still  fought  on.  This 
engagement  carved  a  line  in  my  own  heart,  for 
therein  died  three  comrades  who  enlisted  with 
me,  and  our  souls  were  grappled  together  by 
many  common  dangers  shared  and  mutual  sacri- 
fices cheerfully  made.  There  is  no  life  in  the 
world  that  tries  out  friendship  like  a  soldier's 
in  active  service,  and  when  it  has  endured  that, 
it  is  stronger  than  the  love  of  twin  for  twin,  Hke 
the  love  of  David  and  Jonathan,  of  Damon  and 
Pythias,  a  love  that  passeth  knowledge. 

The  Germans  had  one  ally  on  the  Somme  that 
wrought  us  more  havoc  than  all  his  armament. 
How  we  cursed  that  mud  !  We  ctused  it  sleeping, 
we  ciu'sed  it  waking,  we  ciu*sed  it  riding,  we  cursed 
it  walking.  We  ate  it  and  cursed;  we  drank  it 
and  cursed;  we  swallowed  it  and  spat  it;  we 
snuffed  it  and  wept  it;  it  filled  our  nails  and  our 
ears;  it  caked  and  lined  our  clothing;  we  wallowed 
in  it,  we  waded  through  it,  we  swam  in  it,  and 
splashed  it  about — ^it  stuck  our  helmets  to  our 
hair,  it  plastered  our  woimds,  and  there  were 
men  drowned  in  it.  Oh,  mud,  thou  daughter  of 
the  devil,  thou  offspring  of  evil,  back  to  yotu* 
infernal  regions,  and  invade  the  lowest  circle  of 
the  inferno  that  you  may  make  a  fit  abiding-place 
for  the  slacker  and  pacifist !  I  take  back  all  I  said 
about  the  sand  of  Egypt.  It  was  a  mere  irritant 
compared   with   this   mud.     I  am  sorry  for  the 


2i6  "OVER  THERE 


»» 


times  I  have  been  out  of  temper  with  the  mud 
back  in  Australia,  when  it  climg  to  my  boots  in 
tons,  when  I  have  been  bogged  in  a  sulky  in  the 
"black  soil"  country.  AustraHa,  you  have  no 
mud,  just  a  Httle  surface  stickiness  that  I  will 
never  growl  at  again  as  long  as  I  live: 

"It  isn't  the  foe  that  we  fear; 
It  isn't  the  bullets  that  whine; 
It  isn't  the  business  career 
Of  a  shell,  or  the  bust  of  a  mine; 
It  isn't  the  snipers  who  seek 
To  nip  our  young  hopes  in  the  bud; 
No,  it  isn't  the  guns. 
And  it  isn't  the  Huns — 
It's  the  MUD, 

MUD, 

MUD."* 

Official  reports  of  the  later  battles  in  191 8 
tell  us  that  the  shell-fire  on  the  Somme  was  a 
mere  popgun  show  to  these  battles,  but  it  is  diffi- 
cult for  the  imagination  to  grasp  this  fact,  as  it 
did  not  seem  then  that  the  air  had  any  room 
for  more  shells.  In  fact,  I  have  seen  shells  meet 
in  the  air,  both  exploding  together.  It  seemed 
to  us  at  times  as  if  there  was  not  a  foot  of  air 
that  did  not  have  a  shell  in  it.  In  one  battle 
there  were  four  thousand  guns  firing  over  a  five 
hundred  yards  front,  the  heavies  being  seventeen 
and  a  half  miles  behind  the  lines,  and  the  field- 

*  Robt.  W.  Service. 


THE  SOMME  217 

guns  massed  wheel  to  wheel  a  hundred  and  fifty 
to  the  five  hiindred  yards,  and  row  after  row  like 
infantry  drawn  up  for  review.  Shells  not  merely 
whistled  and  screamed  overhead,  they  leaped  from 
the  ground  beneath  one's  feet  with  a  flame  that 
burned,  a  roar  that  deafened,  and  a  displacement 
of  air  that  swept  one  away.  At  artillery  practice 
in  peace  times  there  is  great  excitement  if  one 
lone  man  happens  to  be  in  front  of  the  gun,  but 
on  the  Somme  we  walked  about  among  them, 
over  them,  and  round  them,  and  we  were  never 
warned  even  when  they  fired  but  a  couple  of  yards 
away.  One  day  a  red-hot  shell  from  a  gim  about 
fifty  yards  away  landed  at  my  feet,  but,  fortunate- 
ly, did  not  explode.  For  four  months  otu  artillery 
expended  an  average  of  half  a  million  shells  a 
day.  The  increase  in  artillery  last  year  may  be 
judged  from  the  fact  that  in  the  last  six  months 
of  191 7  one  million  tons  of  shells  were  used  by 
the  British  on  the  western  front.  By  day  the 
dnmi-fire  of  the  guns  beat  on  one's  ears  like  a 
devil's  tattoo  until  one  felt  that  in  another  week 
reason  would  be  unseated.  But  at  night  was 
added  the  horror  of  flame  that  drove  away  the 
darkness  with  a  ruddy  glare.  It  seemed  as  if 
thousands  of  Bessemer  furnaces  were  refining 
metal  for  the  paving  of  hell.  Into  this  caldron 
of  man's  making  that  outdid  the  fury  of  the  ele- 
ments yoimg  lads  from  farms  and  shops  walked 
uprightly.      Like   ants   impotent   in   their   strife 


2i8  "OVER  THERE" 

they  swarmed,  and  to  a  watcher  from  another 
world  they  must  have  appeared  like  insects  in 
the  crater  of  Vesuvius  in  eruption.  Yet  the  mind 
of  man,  so  much  greater  than  his  body,  had  or- 
ganized and  planned  this  monstrous  scene,  and 
from  his  method  it  deviated  not  a  hair's  breadth. 

We  were  encouraged  and  supported  by  the 
knowledge  that  the  German  was  having  a  far 
worse  time  than  we  were,  that  the  hell  of  flame 
and  fire  and  smoke  was  for  our  protection  and 
his  annihilation.  His  shells  came  over  blindly 
in  most  cases,  and  though  we  were  so  thick  that 
they  could  not  but  get  some  of  us,  yet  we  knew 
that  oiu"  shells  were  being  directed  by  thousands 
of  aeroplanes  on  top  of  the  earth  beneath  which 
he  huddled,  with  the  sweat  of  fear  pouring  from 
him.  There  were  many  indications  of  the  terror 
oui  shell-fire  wrought  and  days  when  the  prisoners 
could  be  coimted  in  thousands,  on  one  occasion 
sixteen  men  bringing  back  as  many  as  four  hiui- 
dred.  These  men  were  imbeciles,  crazed  by  the 
soimd  of  the  shells,  and  obsessed  by  one  idea,  the 
necessity  of  getting  away.  When  we  took  their 
trenches  we  found  that  in  most  cases  they  were 
completely  obliterated,  and  in  some  cases  the  en- 
trances to  the  deep  dugouts  were  blown  in, 
smothering  the  men  sheltering  in  them. 

The  wastage  of  man-power  on  the  Somme  was 
not  a  little  due  to  the  nervous  strain.  I  think 
everybody's  nerves  were  more  or  less  on  edge,  and 


THE  SOMME  219 

now  and  again  a  hurricane  of  fire  would  sweep 
the  trenches  because  some  man's  nerve  got  past 
breaking-point.  He  would  see  an  imaginary 
enemy  bearing  down  upon  his  sentry-post  and 
fire  wildly,  giving  alarm  to  the  whole  line.  A 
German  sentry  would  reply  to  him,  more  of  our 
men  would  fire  back,  more  Germans  join  in,  star- 
shells  make  the  night  as  brighj:  as  day;  then  Fritz 
would  "get  the  wind  up"  thoroughly  and  call 
for  artillery  support — our  guns  would  blaze  into 
reply  and  there  would  be  many  casualties  just  be- 
cause one  man  lost  his  nerve  and  "saw  things." 
Nerves  are  queer  things,  for  frequently  the  man 
of  a  nervous,  highly  strung  temperament  is  the 
coolest  in  action.  Some  men,  too,  get  shell-shock 
a  himdred  yards  from  a  bursting  shell,  while  others 
are  knocked  down  and  buried  and  never  even 
tremble.  Men  have  the  power  of  speech  taken 
from  them  for  months  and  as  suddenly  have  it 
restored.  I  know  of  one  case  in  which  a  boy  did 
Jiot  speak  a  word  for  twelve  months,  and  when 
viewing  the  play  "Under  Fire"  in  Sydney  sud- 
denly found  his  speech  return  at  the  sound  of  a 
shot.  Another  man  had  just  been  pronoimced 
by  the  medical  officer  as  cured  when  the  back- 
fire of  a  motor-car  heard  in  the  streets  of  Mel- 
bourne brought  back  all  the  symptoms  of  shell- 
shock  again.  Once  a  man  has  had  shell-shock, 
he  is  never  of  any  use  imder  shell-fire  again, 
although  he  might  be  quite  brave  under  any  other 


220  "OVER  THERE" 

fire  and  suffer  no  ill  effects  in  civil  life.  Where 
there  is  so  much  shell-fire  the  observation  of  the 
German  sentries  is  very  poor  and  surprise  raids 
are  easily  carried  out.  Fritz  is  very  reluctant  to 
put  his  head  up  and  periscopes  are  always  being 
smashed. 

There  was  only  one  place  in  the  Somme  where 
drinking-water  coiild  be  obtained,  and  this  was 
in  the  ruins  of  the  town  of  Flers.  The  Germans 
had  been  driven  out  of  this  place  too  quickly  to 
give  them  time  to  poison  the  water,  but  they 
made  it  very  difficult  for  us  to  get  at  it  by  shelling 
continually.  They  had  the  exact  range,  and  it 
was  only  in  the  hour  before  dawn  that  one  could 
get  near  the  wells  without  meeting  with  certain 
death.  It  was  amusing  to  see  the  scamper  of 
the  water-carriers  out  of  the  ruins  as  the  first 
shell  annotmced  that  the  relief  of  Fritz's  batteries 
had  been  completed  and  the  "hate"  had  recom- 
menced. They  were  severely  handicapped  running 
with  a  fifty-six  pound  can  of  water,  but  it  was  a 
point  of  honor  not  to  leave  this  behind.  Of  course, 
there  was  plenty  of  other  water  filling  every  hole 
around,  but  this  was  not  only  thick  with  mud 
but  had  the  germs  of  gas-gangrene,  and  one  knows 
not  how  many  other  diseases  besides. 

When  the  line  had  advanced  a  few  miles  "going 
in"  was  as  tiring  a  day's  journey  as  though  one 
had  walked  twenty  miles.  I  will  never  forget 
having  to  chase  after  my  brigade  to  Becordel- 


THE  SOMME  221 

Becourt.  I  left  Albert  just  at  dark  and  had  to 
trust  to  my  instinct  for  direction  in  finding  the 
place,  for  no  one  could  tell  me  the  way,  and  the 
old  road  on  the  map  was  non-existent.  It  was 
only  about  three  miles,  but  seemed  like  thirty  as 
I  wound  in  and  out  of  the  traffic  that  jammed 
the  new  road,  defying  the  passage  of  even  a  dog. 
When  I  arrived  at  the  place  where  the  town  of 
Becordel  had  once  been  I  found  there  were  about 
five  himdred  thousand  troops  camped  about  the 
area,  and  in  the  dark  to  find  the  whereabout  of 
my  own  unit  of  five  thousand  was  about  as  hope- 
less a  task  as  I  have  ever  attempted.  I  inquired 
of  more  than  a  score,  but  no  one  had  seen  anything 
of  the  Australians,  I  wandered  about  for  hours 
and  was  hungry  and  thirsty  and  half  dead  when 
I  stumbled  on  a  Y.  M.  C.  A.  hut.  They  could 
not  guide  me  in  the  right  way,  but  they  gave  me 
a  cup  of  hot  tea,  and  no  nectar  of  the  gods  could 
be  as  welcome.  The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  is  welcome 
to  all  the  boosting  I  can  give,  for  they  were  my 
salvation  that  night,  and  at  other  times  were 
a  comfort  and  resting-place.  When  I  foimd  oiu* 
camp  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  found  the 
men  in  a  worse  plight  than  I  was,  for  their  trans- 
port had  not  arrived,  and  none  had  had  anything 
to  eat  or  drink. 

In  this  huge  camp  which  was  within  range 
of  the  German  guns  there  were  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  camp-fires  blazing  in  the  open  in  utter 


222  "OVER  THERE" 

contempt  of  Fritz  and  his  works.  We  took 
the  road  again  that  same  morning  for  our  posi- 
tion in  reserve  at  Montauban.  I  said  we  took 
the  road — well,  we  were  on  it  sometimes,  when- 
ever we  coiild  shove  the  horses  toward  the  centre 
to  enable  us  to  squeeze  past — otherwise  we  had 
to  plough  along  above  our  knees  in  the  soft  mud. 
Even  on  the  road  the  slush  was  up  to  our  ankles, 
but  it  was  metalled  underneath.  We  discovered 
our  transport  in  the  jam  of  the  traffic — they  had 
taken  twenty-four  hours  to  go  the  four  miles  but 
our  tongues  blistered  with  the  names  we  called 
them,  and  we  threatened  them  with  eternal  dam- 
nation if  they  were  not  at  the  next  camp  with  a 
hot  meal  when  we  arrived. 

Where  Montauban  had  once  been  we  went 
into  camp.  We  had  no  tents,  but  made  oiu-- 
selves  comfortable  in  shell-holes,  with  a  bitter-cold 
rain  falling,  by  stretching  tarpaulins  over  them. 
The  engineers  were  putting  up  Nissen  huts  at 
the  rate  of  twenty  a  day,  but  as  soon  as  the  last 
bolt  was  screwed  home,  forty  shelterless  men 
crowded  each  one  to  capacity.  It  was  some  days 
before  our  turn  came  and  we  waited  lying  half- 
covered  with  mud  and  slush.  When  we  did  get 
a  hut  allotted  to  us  it  was  as  if  we  had  been  trans- 
ferred to  a  palace.  These  huts  look  like  half  of 
a  round  galvanized-iron  tank,  and  were  floored 
and  lined.  They  were  carried  in  numbered  sec- 
tions and  could  be  put  together  in  a  few  minutes. 


THE  SOMME  223 

They  were  very  comfortable.  You  could  stand 
up  in  the  centre,  and  there  was  plenty  of  room 
to  sleep  along  the  sides.  I  believe  the  inventor, 
Mr.  Nissen,  is  an  American  and  here's  my  hand 
to  him  as  an  ally  who  maybe  saved  me  from 
rheumatism,  and  I  am  sure  thousands  of  boys 
from  the  other  side  of  the  world  bless  his  name 
continually. 

The  whole  brigade  was  practically  bogged  when 
we  came  to  move  forward.  The  weight  of  our 
equipment  sank  us  into  the  soft  mud  and  the 
only  way  we  got  onto  the  road  again  was  by  hang- 
ing to  the  stirrups  of  the  horses  as  they  ploughed 
a  way  through.  We  also  passed  ropes  back  for 
the  men  to  grasp  and  harnessed  them  to  mules, 
and  thus  dragged  them  to  firm  groimd.  The 
road  did  not  carry  us  far,  and  we  soon  had  to 
struggle  across  the  open  toward  the  support 
trenches.  This  was  not  as  bad  as  round  the  camp, 
not  being  churned  up  by  the  tramping  about  of 
men  and  horses.  We  could  not  use  the  communi- 
cation-trenches as  they  were  rivers  of  liquid  mud, 
but  had  to  wait  till  dark  and  go  over  the  top  in 
reHeving  the  front  line.  On  this  occasion  we  took 
over  from  the  Grenadier  Guards,  which  numbers 
among  its  officers  many  of  the  English  nobility. 
We  "bushies"  and  "outbackers"  from  the  Land 
of  the  Kangaroo  stepped  down  into  the  mud- 
holes  just  vacated  by  an  earl,  several  lords,  and 
as  noble  and  proud  a  regiment  as  ever  won  glory 


224  "OVER  THERE" 

on  a  battle-field.  The  Prince  of  Wales  was  a 
staff-captain  in  the  army  of  the  Somme  doing 
his  bit  in  the  mud  and  misery  like  the  rest  of  us. 
There  is  no  "sacred  privilege  that  doth  hedge 
about  a  king"  in  the  British  Empire,  and  King 
George  is  respected  among  us  for  his  manliness, 
and  we  cheered  him  sincerely  when  he  twice  visited 
us  in  the  trenches,  for  we  do  not  believe  to-day  in 
the  divine  right  of  kings,  neither  do  we  believe 
in  the  divine  right  of  majorities. 

In  another  chapter  that  tells  of  my  woimding 
I  have  pictured  our  days  and  weeks  as  lived  in 
these  trenches,  so  I  will  bring  this  chapter  to  a 
close  by  simimarizing  some  of  the  things  that  the 
great  push  on  the  Somme  accomplished. 

(i)  It  relieved  the  pressure  on  Verdun. 

(2)  It  accoimted  for  several  himdred  thousand 
German  casualties. 

(3)  It  demonstrated  our  ability  to  break 
through. 

(4)  It  led  to  the  perfecting  of  barrage-fire  where- 
by casualties  were  reduced  in  our  infantry  to  an 
astonishing  degree. 

(5)  It  gave  confidence  to  our  troops  by  en- 
abling them  to  get  to  hand-grips  with  the  Ger- 
man, and  discover  that  he  was  individually  no 
fighter. 

(6)  It  weakened  the  morale  of  the  German 
army  enormously,  and  convinced  the  German 
soldier  that  his  cause  was  lost. 


THE  SOMME  225 

(7)  It  gave  to  us  possession  of  the  high  ground. 

(8)  It  definitely  established  our  supremacy  of 
the  air,  and  was  the  tiuning-point  of  the  whole 
war. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
THE  ARMY'S  PAIR  OF  EYES 

The  aeroplane  has  become  so  much  a  necessity 
to  the  army  that  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  how 
wars  were  ever  fought  without  them.  I  remember 
reading  a  statement  by  a  military  observer  with 
the  Japanese  army  that,  if  the  Russians  had  had 
a  single  aeroplane,  they  could  have  annihilated 
the  Japs  more  than  once.  Of  the  army's  pair 
of  eyes  the  airman  is  the  sharper,  but  the  old- 
time  scout  is  not  by  any  means  superseded,  though 
his  methods  have  changed.  Just  as  there  is  much 
behind  the  enemy  lines  that  only  the  aeroplanes 
can  see,  there  are  some  things  that  cannot  be  dis- 
covered except  from  the  level  of  fhe  groimd  along 
which  the  scout  crawls.  The  airman  makes  the 
enemy's  plans  an  open  book,  for  he  observes  him 
'as  soon  as  he  moves,  but  the  airman  travels  on  a 
different  plane  from  the  infantry  soldier,  and  it  is 
the  infantry  man  who  fights  out  the  final  phase 
of  the  battle.  The  ground  has  an  altogether  dif- 
ferent aspect  from  the  air,  and  aeroplane  photo- 
graphs sometimes  mislead.  The  scout,  however, 
goes  ahead  on  the  same  ground  that  the  infantry 
have  to  travel,  and  he  can  bring  back  news  of 

226 


THE  ARMY'S  PAIR  OF  EYES      227 

exactly  what  is  there.  The  airmen  do  not  help 
us  much  in  determining  the  condition  of  the 
enemy's  barbed  wire,  and  nothing  is  so  fatal  for  an 
attack  as  being  held  up  on  the  wire.  "Streamer" 
wire  cannot  be  seen  a  few  yards  away,  and  only 
by  sending  out  advance  scouting-parties  can  a 
commander  know  whether  the  wire  has  been  suf- 
ficiently destroyed  to  allow  an  easy  passage  for 
his  troops.  As  an  attack  is  always  planned  to 
take  two  or  three  of  the  enemy's  lines,  these  scouts 
have  to  find  out  the  condition  of  the  wire  in  front 
of  the  second  or  third  line  trenches  as  well. 

Crawling  in  No  Man's  Land  and  behind  the  Ger- 
man lines  is  not  as  dangerous  as  it  soimds.  The 
greatest  cause  of  casualties  is  shell-fire  and  the 
scout  is  safe  from  this,  for,  naturally,  no  enemy 
shells  fall  near  him  in  enemy  territory,  and  he 
has  previously  arranged  with  his  own  artillery 
to  withhold  fire  from  the  sector  in  which  he  is 
working.  He  nms  Httle  risk  even  from  machine- 
gims  or  rifles,  for  the  ground  is  so  honeycombed 
with  shell-holes  that  he  is  nearly  all  the  time  in 
good  cover.  The  only  danger  that  he  nms  is 
that  of  discovery,  and  for  a  properly  trained  scout 
such  is  inexcusable. 

The  general  idea  the  stay-at-home  has  of  the 
trenches  is  that  every  yard  contains  a  man  who  is 
watching  out  for  signs  of  the  enemy.  But  a 
trench  is  serrated  with  bays  containing  half  a 
dozen  men  who  are  cut  off  from  sight  of  their  neigh- 


228  "OVER  THERE" 

bors.  Of  these  half-dozen  men  one  or,  at  most, 
two  are  on  the  lookout  while  the  others  are  sleep- 
ing, and  a  well-placed  hand-grenade  will  put  the 
whole  six  of  them  out  of  action.  Experience  has 
shown  that  where  there  has  been  much  shell-fire 
the  sentry's  observation  is  very  lax,  as  men  will 
not  stick  their  heads  above  the  trenches  any  more 
than  they  can  help  and  at  night  periscopes  are  not 
much  use.  I  have  repeatedly  come  back  into  our 
own  trenches  from  a  night's  excursion  without 
being  seen  by  our  own  sentries,  and  on  two  oc- 
casions, in  the  daytime.  There  are  some  sectors 
that  are  only  held  by  battle  outposts  with  gaps  of 
fifty  and  a  himdred  yards  without  them.  Of 
course,  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  get  past  in  these 
places. 

We  have  sometimes  to  get  the  artillery  to  make 
a  way  for  us.  We  will  have  them  bombard  a 
himdred  yards  of  German  trench  very  heavily 
for  about  ten  minutes  while  we  lie  within  fifty 
yards  waiting  for  the  prearranged  second  when 
we  will  scuttle  across;  the  enemy  having  been 
compelled  to  vacate  that  sector  dining  the  bom- 
bardment, it  is  some  minutes  before  they  realize 
that  the  shelling  has  ceased  and  return. 

Once  behind  the  German  front  trench,  the  work 
is  easy,  for  they  never  look  behind  or  imagine 
that  any  of  their  enemies  could  be  in  their  rear, 
and  there  is  no  observation  from  the  second  or 
third  line  trenches.     On  other  occasions  we  do 


THE  ARMY'S  PAIR  OF  EYES      229 

without  the  help  of  the  artillery,  bombing  a  gap 
for  ourselves.  We  arrange  to  have  rifle-grenades 
fired  along  three  hundred  yards  of  trench  except 
for  fifty  yards  where  is  our  gateway.  Here  we 
sneak  up  and  carefully  roll  hand-grenades  into 
two  or  three  bays.  The  Germans  on  either  side 
do  not  take  any  notice  of  these  explosions  as  the 
same  thing  is  happening  all  along  the  line,  and 
the  Germans  in  the  bays  are  not  in  condition  to 
take  much  notice  either.  We  may  have  to  ad- 
minister the  "coup-de-grace"  with  our  hand- 
bayonets. 

Getting  back  is  fairly  easy,  for  the  sentry's 
back  is  toward  us,  and  a  scout  should  never  have 
to  strike  twice.  He  may  leave  a  Mills  grenade 
with  the  pin  out  as  a  gift  to  the  sleeping  men  in 
the  bay.  He  only  has  a  two  or  four-foot-wide 
trench  to  cross,  and  even  if  the  alarm  be  given 
he  is  back  among  the  miUion  and  two  shell-holes 
of  No  Man's  Land  before  any  action  can  be  taken: 
even  though  they  bomb  their  front  thoroughly 
the  chances  are  in  the  scout's  favor;  though 
they  make  No  Man's  Land  bright  as  day  with 
star-shells  and  flares  there  are  plenty  of  shell- 
holes  deep  enough  to  completely  hide  him  from 
view. 

There  is  other  important  information  that  only 
the  scout  can  obtain  as  when  we  once  found  a 
diimmy  trench  filled  with  barbed  wire  and  con- 
trolled by  machine-guns.     Had  our  men  gone 


230  "OVER  THERE" 

forward  in  the  attack  without  the  knowledge  of 
this  they  would  have  jumped  down  into  it  to 
be  massacred  like  rats  in  a  trap.  Machine- 
gun  positions  are  also  generally  indistinguishable 
to  the  airman's  glass  or  camera.  I  used  an  in- 
strument of  my  own  construction  which  would 
give  me  the  map  reference  of  any  object  that  I 
observed  in  relation  to  any  other  two  objects 
the  position  of  which  I  knew  on  the  map.  At 
night  I  would  have  the  two  known  positions 
marked  by  distinguishing  lights  or  have  colored 
flares  sent  up  from  them  at  regular  intervals. 

The  training  of  our  scouts  is  very  severe.  For 
in  this  work  men  have  to  have  complete  con- 
fidence in  their  own  superiority  to  the  German 
soldier,  and  must  be  able  to  depend  entirely  on 
their  own  resources  as  they  generally  have  to 
work  singly  or  in  pairs.  It  is  necessary  that  they 
be  picked  men  with  unusual  keenness  of  observa- 
tion. They  are  trained  for  work  in  the  dark  by 
being  made  to  go  through  the  ordinary  soldier's 
exercises  blindfolded.  In  this  way  they  get  the 
extra  sense  that  a  blind  man  has.  A  blind  man 
will  not  put  his  weight  onto  his  foot  until  he  has 
felt  if  it  is  on  firm  ground;  and  by  habit  he  does 
this  without  hesitating.  Our  scouts  are  able  after 
a  while  to  walk  along  using  their  eyes  for  observa- 
tion all  the  time  not  needing  to  watch  where  they 
are  stepping.  We  also  train  them  to  have  com- 
plete control  over  their  muscles  and  among  the 


THE  ARMY'S  PAIR  OF  EYES      231 

final  tests  for  first-class  scouts  are  to  remain  an 
hour  without  showing  any  movement  whatsoever 
and  to  take  half  an  hour  in  getting  from  the  prone 
or  lying  position  to  standing  upright  on  their  feet. 
These  two  last  ideas  were  borrowed  from  the 
Zulu  who  has  no  equal  in  the  world  in  escaping 
observation.  They  are  also  taught  many  methods 
for  finding  directions  as  a  compass  is  unreliable 
where  there  is  so  much  imidentified  iron  lying 
about. 

We  have  abundantly  demonstrated  in  several 
sectors  on  the  western  front  that  it  is  always  pos- 
sible for  properly  trained  men  to  surprise  the 
enemy.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  Germans  have 
carried  out  surprise  raids  on  us,  and  I  am  quite 
satisfied  that  it  is  never  possible  completely  to 
guard  against  surprise.  In  one  sector  I  had  trip 
wires  in  No  Man's  Land  connected  with  buzzers 
in  our  own  trench  so  arranged  that  I  would  know 
if  there  were  any  one  out  there  and  to  within 
fifty  yards  of  where  they  were.  But  this  was 
only  possible  on  a  quiet  front  where  there  was 
no  actual  offensive  taking  place,  and  not  many 
shells  falling  in  No  Man's  Land.  I  even  placed 
buttons  in  the  German  wire  so  as  to  be  sure  that 
our  patrols  did  not  just  go  outside  our  own  trench 
and  He  in  a  shell-hole  until  it  was  time  to  return, 
for  they  had  to  signal  by  pressing  these  buttons 
at  intervals.  They  had  to  repair  any  of  these 
wires   they   found   severed,    and   this   somewhat 


232  "OVER  THERE" 

elaborate  scheme  was  the  means  of  our  capturing 
some  German  patrols  and  gave  us  entire  control 
of  No  Man's  Land. 

We  also  took  advantage  of  every  possible  means 
to  make  Fritz's  sentries  jumpy.  We  would  have 
our  snipers  on  certain  days  smash  all  their  peri- 
scopes. I  myself  have  shot  down  sixty  in  an  after- 
noon when  the  sun  was  shining  on  them.  This 
made  them  afraid  that  they  would  not  have  any 
left  for  emergencies  and  gave  them  a  wholesome 
respect  for  our  shooting  so  that  they  were  very 
shy  of  exposing  themselves.  We  would  also  set 
a  rifle  to  fire  exactly  into  a  loophole  so  that  when 
it  opened  we  had  only  to  pull  the  trigger  to  send 
a  bullet  through  the  brain  of  the  man  using  it. 
There  were  other  dodges  that  it  is  not  wise  to 
speak  of  just  yet. 

This  may  be  a  good  place  to  describe  the  two 
kinds  of  raids.  In  a  raid  with  artillery  support 
the  artillery  cut  out  a  sector  of  the  enemy  trench 
with  a  "box  barrage"  which  means  that  they 
fire  on  three  lines  of  a  square  leaving  the  open 
side  for  our  troops  to  enter.  They  also  put  a 
barrage  on  this  side  imtil  the  prearranged  mo- 
ment when  the  attackers  go  forward.  This  leaves 
the  raiders  to  deal  with  the  troops  within  that 
box  preventing  any  others  coming  in  to  support 
them.  The  weakness  of  this  method  is  that  it 
lets  the  whole  German  line  know  what  we  are 
doing,  and  the  raiding-party  frequently  gets  cut 


THE  ARMY'S  PAIR  OF  EYES      233 

up  badly  by  the  enemy's  artillery  when  they  are 
returning  across  No  Man's  Land. 

The  most  successful  raid  is  always  the  silent 
one  if  you  have  dependable  troops.  The  chief  ob- 
stacle is  the  enemy  wire,  but  beforehand  the  artil- 
lery can  cut  this  in  many  places,  and  machine-guns 
can  be  ranged  on  these  gaps  to  prevent  their  being 
repaired.  The  enemy  does  not  know,  even  if 
he  suspects  a  raid,  exactly  where  it  will  come. 
It  is  even  a  good  idea  if  you  only  have  a  small 
party  to  enter  one  of  these  gaps,  crawl  down  fifty 
yards  inside  the  wire  before  attacking,  and,  when 
finished,  come  out  through  another  gap  lower 
down,  but  every  man  of  the  party  needs  to  scout 
over  the  ground  beforehand  so  there  will  be  no 
confusion  during  the  attack.  We  have  carried  out 
successful  raids  in  this  manner  when  none  but  the 
Genrians  who  were  attacked  knew  anything  of 
what  was  going  on  imtil  we  were  back  in  our  own 
trenches,  and  rarely  were  there  any  of  these  who 
could  give  evidence  except  by  means  of  their  dead 
bodies.  I  remember  that  one  of  our  men,  who 
was  champion  wood-chopper  of  Australia  before 
the  war,  drove  his  bayonet  through  a  German 
and  six  inches  into  a  hardwood  beam,  and  as 
he  could  not  withdraw  it  had  to  unship  it,  leav- 
ing the  German  stt^ck  up  there  as  a  souvenir 
of  his  visit.  Probably  not  another  man  in  the 
army  could  have  done  it,  but  it  no  doubt  added 
to   the  reputation  of  the  Australians,   as  these 


234  "OVER  THERE" 

Fritzes  must  have  thought  us  a  race  of  Sam- 
sons. 

There  is  a  strong  bond  between  us  and  the 
airmen,  and  the  army's  pair  of  eyes  are  focussed 
together,  for  the  information  from  both  sources 
is  co-ordinated.  Oiu"  trench  maps  are  constructed 
chiefly  from  aeroplane  photographs,  and  it  was 
only  occasionally  that  some  object  would  be  seen 
in  the  photograph  that  could  not  be  identified; 
when  we  scouts  would  have  to  crawl  over  to  it 
and  find  out  its  family-tree. 

All  our  intelligence  officers  are  given  schooling 
in  aerial  observation,  and  I  have  been  several 
times  over  the  German  lines  with  a  pilot,  and 
have  a  very  high  admiration  for  these  birdmen 
who  are  not  merely  the  bravest  of  the  brave 
but  princes  of  good  fellows.  I  had  some  won- 
derful aeroplane  photographs  of  some  of  our 
attacks  wherein  I  could  recognize  the  stages 
of  our  progress,  and  so  expert  has  this  work 
become  that  a  German  soldier  can  hardly  even 
brush  away  a  fly  without  a  permanent  record 
of  it  being  obtained.  Probably  the  greater  num- 
ber of  our  aeroplanes  on  the  battle-front  are  en- 
gaged in  ranging  for  the  artillery,  and  in  actual 
offensive  warfare,  but  their  greatest  value  is  in 
reconnoissance,  and  so  it  will  always  be. 

"Airman"  and  "scout" — one  flies,  the  other 
crawls,  yet  both  seek  information  from  the  enemy, 
and  are  the  twin  eyes  of  the  army.    There  is  a 


THE  ARMY'S  PAIR  OF  EYES      235 

romance  about  the  work  of  both  that  attracts 
adventurous  youth,  and  neither  is  as  dangerous 
as  it  appears  to  a  layman.  In  the  element  of 
the  airman  he  is  a  difficult  target  to  hit,  and 
it  is  estimated  that  it  takes  thirty  thousand  anti- 
aircraft shells  to  bring  him  down.  And  his 
machine  is  now  so  perfect  that  peace  flying  will 
be  much  safer  than  motoring. 

In  No  Man's  Land,  the  hunting-ground  of  the 
scout,  shells  only  fall  by  accident,  and  he  is  camou- 
flaged to  defy  detection.  A  black  crawling  suit 
is  used  at  night,  with  hood  and  mask,  but  the 
most  important  thing  is  to  break  the  outline  of 
the  head,  so  the  hood  has  several  peaks  and  cor- 
ners. A  human  head  on  the  sky-line  cannot  be 
mistaken  for  anything  else,  except  maybe  a  pimip- 
kin  or  melon,  but  in  these  hoods  it  appears  like 
a  large  limip  of  dirt,  and  should  the  scout  chance 
to  move  suddenly  while  in  such  a  position,  the 
likelihood  is  he  would  be  dirt  in  a  second  or  so. 

"All  day  long  when  the  shells  sail  over 
I  stand  at  the  sand-bags  and  take  my  chance; 
But  at  night,  at  night  I'm  a  reckless  rover, 
And  over  the  parapet  gleams  Romance."  * 

*  Robert  W.  Service. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
NIGHTS  IN  NO  MAN'S  LAND 

"How  little  I  thought  that  my  time  was  coming 
Sudden  and  splendid,  supreme  and  soon; 
And  here  I  am  with  the  bullets  humming 
As  I  crawl  and  I  curse  the  light  of  the  moon. 
Out  alone,  for  adventure  thirsting, 
Out  in  mysterious  No  Man's  Land; 
Prone  with  the  dead  when  a  star-shell,  bursting, 
Flares  on  the  horrors  on  every  hand. 

Yet  oh,  it's  great  to  be  here  with  danger, 
Here  in  the  weird,  death-pregnant  dark. 
In  the  devil's  pasture  a  stealthy  ranger, 
When  the  moon  is  decently  hiding.     Hark ! 
What  was  that?    Was  it  just  the  shiver 
Of  an  eerie  wind  or  a  clammy  hand? 
The  rustle  of  grass,  or  the  passing  quiver 
Of  one  of  the  ghosts  of  No  Man's  Land?"  * 

The  first  night  "out  there."  The  memory  of 
it  still  quickens  the  pulse  and  makes  the  cheek 
grow  pale.  How  my  teeth  chattered,  my  heart 
beat  almost  to  suffocation,  every  splash  of  a  rat 
was  an  enemy  scout,  and  every  blade  of  grass 
magnified  itself  into  a  post  for  their  barbed  wire. 
I  had  but  gone  a  few  yards  when  I  expected  the 
next  instant  to  bimip  into  the  enemy  trenches. 

There  are  strange  sounds  in  No  Man's  Land; 
not  human  soimds,  for  such  carry  far — the  beat  of 

*  Robert  W.  Service. 
236 


NIGHTS  IN  NO  MAN'S  LAND      237 

a  hammer  on  a  post,  the  sharp  twang  of  unrolling 
barbed  wire  as  it  catches,  and  then  springs  away 
— voices  even  come  as  through  a  megaphone  in 
the  eerie  silence — but  these  are  long-drawn  sighs 
that  penetrate  the  inner  consciousness  and  hushed 
murmurs  that  fall  on  the  ear  of  the  soul.  I  have 
felt  a  touch  on  the  shoulder  as  though  one  would 
speak  to  me  when  there  has  been  no  one  by. 

It  is  the  grave  of  ten  thousand  unburied  dead, 
but  the  grinning  skulls  and  quivering  jelly  or  the 
few  rags  that  flutter  in  the  wind  are  not  the  com- 
rades that  we  knew.  I  think  their  spirits  hover 
near,  for  they  cannot  go  to  their  abiding-place  till 
victory  has  been  won.  They  are  ever  seeking  to 
pierce  the  veil  of  sense  so  that  they  may  add  their 
strength  to  oiu*  arms,  and  these  make  for  us  of 
No  Man's  Land  "no  strange  place,"  and  give 
to  our  sentries  encouragement  until  the  land  of 
No  Man  vanishes  and  our  possession  reaches 
to  the  barrier  of  the  enemy  barbed  wire.  My 
nights  in  No  Man's  Land  if  added  together  would 
total  many  months,  and  I  grew  to  feel  that  it  was 
one  of  the  safest  places  on  the  whole  front. 

There  was  one  night  when  I  got  a  huge  fright. 
I  was  crawling  alongside  a  ridge — ^it  had  been 
an  old  irrigation  farm,  and  this  was  a  low  levee 
ninning  across — I  heard  on  the  other  side  a  splash 
which  I  thought  was  made  by  one  of  the  innumer- 
able rats,  but  I  put  up  my  head  and  looked  over 
— so  did  Fritz,  not  a  yard  away  !    We  both  stared 


238  "OVER  THERE" 

blankly  in  each  other's  face  for  a  long  second 
and  then  both  of  us  turned  and  bolted.  This 
was  excusable  for  a  German,  but  I  have  no  de- 
fense. When  I  went  back  to  look  for  him,  after 
a  court  martial  by  my  own  conscience,  he  was 
nowhere  to  be  seen. 

There  was  another  night  when  Fritz  got  the 
better  of  me.  In  my  explorations  I  came  across 
a  path  through  his  barbed  wire  which  was  evi- 
dently the  place  where  his  patrols  came  out. 
I  thought  I  would  provide  a  surprise-party  for 
him,  so  I  planted  some  percussion  bombs  and 
put  a  small  Union  Jack  in  the  centre.  In  the 
morning  the  Union  Jack  was  gone  and  a  German 
flag  in  its  place.  Everybody  from  the  brigadier 
down  rubbed  it  in  that  Fritz  was  too  smart  for 
me. 

But  after  this  the  tide  turned  and  came  in  in 
a  flood  of  ill  luck  for  Fritz.  It  was  a  pitch-black 
night  and  the  occasional  star-shells  only  served 
to  make  the  black  more  intense  when  they  faded. 
As  we  crawled  out  one  behind  the  other  each  had 
to  keep  a  hand  on  the  foot  ahead  so  as  not  to 
get  separated.  We  made  several  ineffectual  at- 
tempts to  find  the  opening  in  our  barbed  wire 
and  then  cut  a  new  one.  Was  this  like  the  dark- 
ness after  Calvary  ?  The  red  signal-rockets  ascend- 
ing from  the  enemy's  trenches  gave  no  light,  but 
only  burnt  for  a  second  or  two  as  a  ruddy  star. 
And  the  green  lights  tiuned  the  vaporous  fog  a 


NIGHTS  IN  NO  MAN'S  LAND      239 

sickly  yellowish  green  as  though  it  were  some 
new  poison-gas  of  the  devils  over  there.  I  led 
the  way  straight  across.  It  was  too  dark  to  pick 
a  path  and  we  committed  no  sacrilege  as  we  trod 
on  the  bodies  of  forgotten  comrades.  It  was 
impossible  to  repress  a  shudder  as  the  hand 
met  the  clammy  flesh,  and  the  spilt  light  from 
a  rocket  exposed  the  marble  eyeballs  and  whitened 
flesh  of  the  cheek  with  the  bared  teeth  gleaming 
yet  more  white.  Our  mission  was  to  wait  for  a 
German  patrol  at  the  gap  in  their  wire  I  had 
previously  discovered.  We  were  seeking  identi- 
fication of  the  regiments  opposing  us,  and  we  de- 
desired  to  take  at  least  one  of  them  alive. 

We  waited  drawn-out  minutes  while  the  dark 
smothered  us  and  our  thoughts  haunted  us.  Min- 
ute piled  on  minute  while  we  suffered  the  torture  of 
the  heretic  who  was  fastened  so  that  the  falling 
drops  of  ice-water  would  follow  each  on  the  selfsame 
spot.  Home  and  ' '  Love  of  Life ' '  sought  to  drag  us 
back  to  the  shelter  of  our  trenches,  but  Duty  like 
an  iron  stake  pinned  us  there.  But  the  stake  was 
fast  loosening  in  the  soil  of  our  resolution,  when 
we  heard  the  guttural  gnmtings  that  announced 
the  approach  of  our  quarry.  We  let  them  pass 
us  and  get  well  away  from  their  trenches,  then 
silently,  like  himters  stalking  wild  beasts,  we  fol- 
lowed them.  When  we  were  close  enough  to  be 
almost  overpowered  by  the  smell  of  sauerkraut 
and  sausage  mingling  with  stale  sweat,  my  voice 


240  "OVER  THERE" 

rapped  out,  though  muffled  by  the  thick  air: 
"Hands  up !"  There  was  no  hesitation  in  obey- 
ing, although  there  were  eight  of  them  and  only 
six  of  us.  We  pointed  out  the  direction  for  them 
to  go,  and  reminded  them  with  our  boots  that  there 
was  no  time  to  waste.  We  had  only  crossed  a 
couple  of  shell-holes,  however,  when  we  came  to 
a  full  stop.  Presently  I  understood  that  they  had 
discovered  we  were  AustraHans  and  were  terri- 
fied. Probably  they  had  been  fed  up  with  tales 
about  our  savagery,  that  we  torttu-ed  our  prisoners. 
Anyway,  they  would  not  budge,  and  we  could  not 
carry  eight  hulking  Germans  and  had  no  means  of 
tying  them  together.  Presently,  the  disturbance 
attracted  notice  from  both  trenches  and  there  was 
only  one  thing  to  do.  My  sergeant  called  out: 
' '  Look  out,  sir  !  We'll  be  seen  in  a  minute.  What 
will  we  do?"  The  contest  was  short  and  sharp; 
they  outnumbered  us,  but  we  went  to  it  with  a  will. 
It  was  sheer  butchery,  but  I  had  rather  send  a 
thousand  of  the  swine  down  to  the  fatherland  than 
lose  one  of  my  boys.  And  perhaps  it  was  charity 
to  some  wife  and  daughter  who  would  now  be 
free  from  the  brutality  of  her  Teutonic  lord  and 
master. 

There  is  nothing  so  easy  as  to  be  lost  in  No 
Man's  Land.  A  compass  is  useless,  for  you  may 
be  lying  on  a  fifteen-inch  shell  just  covered  with 
a  few  inches  of  earth,  and  the  stars  refuse  to  look 
down  on  its  pain,  and  the  sky  is  always  thickly 


NIGHTS  IN  NO  MAN'S  LAND      241 

veiled.  Turn  round  three  times,  and  you  don't 
know  which  trench  to  return  to.  It  is  an  awkward 
predicament,  and  many  a  time  I  went  blindly 
forward  praying  that  it  was  in  the  right  di- 
rection. The  German's  horn-rimmed  glasses  but 
bewilder  him  the  more,  and  we  have  had  several 
of  them  walk  into  our  arms  without  intention, 
though  they  soon  found  that  thereby  they  had 
bettered  themselves.  There  was  one  yoimg  Ba- 
varian officer  who  made  this  miscalculation.  I 
saw  him  moving  near  our  wire  in  the  early  dawn. 
I  called  to  some  men  to  draw  a  bead  on  him  but 
he  came  toward  us  and  at  the  last  with  a  run 
jimiped  down  into  oiu:  trench.  ' '  Good  morning  ! " 
I  said  to  him,  looking  down  my  automatic,  and 
you  never  saw  such  a  crestfallen  countenance  in 
your  life.  It  must  have  been  some  shock,  expect- 
ing to  join  his  own  people  and  suddenly  finding 
himself  in  the  camp  of  his  enemies.  I  foimd  out 
afterward  that  he  was  a  young  cadet  qualifying 
for  his  commission,  and  this  was  his  first  night 
in  the  trenches.  He  evidently  was  seeking  an 
iron  cross  very  early  in  his  career.  I  spat  ques- 
tion after  question  at  him:  "What's  your  regi- 
ment?" "How  long  have  you  been  in  the 
trenches?"  etc.,  but  in  English  he  replied:  "I 
won't  tell  you  anything.  You  can't  make  me!" 
"All  right,  old  chap,  don't  get  excited!  Come 
along  with  me."  I  took  him  to  the  dugout  which 
I  shared  with  the  medical  officer  in  the  support- 


242  "OVER  THERE" 

trenches  and  sent  Pat,  my  batman,  to  get  to- 
gether the  best  meal  he  could.  Pat  was  a  genius 
as  a  provider.  None  of  the  other  officers  liked 
him,  for  they  suspected  he  was  the  medium  for 
the  loss  of  some  of  their  luxuries,  and  I  always 
had  a  blind  eye.  On  this  occasion  Pat  got  together 
a  real  slap-up  feed — some  tinned  sausages,  mashed 
potatoes,  strawberry  jam,  preserved  pears  and 
cream,  not  forgetting  a  bottle  of  champagne.  I 
sent  for  the  doctor  and  we  fell  to  with  gusto,  and 
never  ojffered  his  nibs  a  bite,  though  the  eyes  were 
popping  out  of  his  head,  and  his  mouth  watering 
with  hunger.  Toward  the  end  of  the  meal  I  said 
to  him:  "I  can't  compel  you  to  tell  me  anything, 
but  I  am  not  compelled  to  feed  you.  But  you 
know  how  to  earn  something  to  eat."  He  began 
to  tell  me  something  I  knew  was  all  rubbish  and 
I  swung  at  him  with  "You  swine!  If  you  teU 
me  those  lies  I'll  strip  your  badges  off  you  and 
send  you  in  as  a  private."  I  was  surprised  at 
the  effect  this  threat  had  on  him,  though  I  knew 
that  was  the  one  thing  that  never  failed  in  bring- 
ing a  German  officer  to  book.  He  trembled  and 
paled  and  gave  me  a  lot  of  information  that  I 
afterward  proved  to  be  correct. 

Here's  a  good  story  of  Pat,  my  old  batman, 
who  had  been  a  shearer's  cook  in  Australia,  and 
looked  after  me  like  a  father.  He  was  really  too 
old  for  the  trenches,  but  this  job  just  suited  him. 
I  was  very  surprised  one  day  to  see  him  with  a 


NIGHTS   IN  NO   MAN'S  LAND      243 

German  prisoner.  He  was  never  in  a  charge, 
and  had  no  business  having  this  man.  Probably 
he  had  borrowed  him  from  some  other  chap.  I 
said  to  him:  "Pat,  what  on  earth  are  you  doing 
with  Fritz?"  "To  tell  yer  the  truth,  sorr-r,  01 
haven't  yet  made  up  my  moind  !"  "Let  us  have 
no  humbug,  take  him  back  to  the  cage  !"  "Very 
well,  sorr-r!"  About  ten  minutes  later  I  saw 
Pat  without  his  prisoner.  "Here,  Pat,  what  on 
earth  did  you  do  with  Fritz?"  "Well,  sorr-r, 
he  kept  beggin'  and  beggin'  to  be  let  go,  so  Oi 
just  put  a  Mills  in  his  pocket  with  the  pin  out, 
and  tould  him  to  run  for  his  loife!"  He  would 
not  get  fifty  yards  before  it  went  off ! 

The  trained  scout  moves  very  cautiously  in 
No  Man's  Land,  with  all  his  senses  at  high  ten- 
sion. After  moving  from  one  shell-hole  to  the 
next  he  Hes  and  listens  for  a  full  minute.  If 
there  are  any  human  beings  near  they  will  likely 
betray  themselves  by  loud  breathing,  a  muffled 
sneeze,  or  some  rattle  of  equipment.  If  satis- 
fied that  the  way  is  clear,  he  moves  forward 
into  another  hole.  Should  he  suddenly  come 
into  sight  of  the  enemy,  he  is  taught  to  freeze 
instantly,  and  the  chances  are  he  will  not  be 
noticed. 

There  was  one  night  when  I  was  making  a  way 
through  the  German  wire,  and  had  my  hand  up 
cutting  a  strand,  when  a  sentry  poked  his  head  over 
the  top  and  looked  straight  at  me  not  three  yards 


244  "OVER  THERE" 

away.  I  froze  instantly  in  that  attitude  but  he 
fired  a  shot  at  me  which,  of  course,  went  wide,  be- 
ing aimed  in  the  dark.  He  then  sent  up  a  flare, 
but  the  firing  of  this  dazzles  a  man  for  several  sec- 
onds, and  then  so  many  shadows  are  thrown  that 
I  was  no  more  distinct  than  previously.  He  went 
away,  returning  a  minute  or  two  later  to  have  an- 
other look.  By  this  time  I  was  feeling  quite  stiff, 
but  he  was  quite  satisfied  that  no  live  man  could 
be  there.  Had  I  jumped  into  a  shell-hole,  as  fear 
prompted  me  to  do,  he  would  have  roused  the 
whole  line,  and  a  bomb  would  likely  have  got  me. 
However,  I  thought  this  would  be  a  good  oppor- 
tunity to  take  a  look  into  the  trench,  for  I  reasoned 
that  this  sentry  must  be  alone  or  some  one  else 
would  have  put  up  the  flare  while  he  fired  the  shot. 
Probably  the  rest  of  his  regiment  were  on  a  work- 
ing fatigue  not  far  away.  It  was  a  breastwork 
trench  and  I  climbed  up  the  sand-bags,  but  tripped 
over  a  wire  at  the  top  and  came  down  with  a 
clatter.  A  red  flare  went  up  and  I  heard  the  feet 
of  many  soldiers  running  along  the  duck-boards. 
I  only  had  time  to  roll  into  the  ditch  at  the  foot 
of  the  back  of  the  parapet,  where  I  was  quite  safe 
from  observation,  when  they  manned  their  trench 
to  repel  the  "raid."  After  several  minutes  when 
about  a  hundred  rifles,  several  machine-gims,  and 
a  trench-mortar  were  pouring  their  fire  into  No 
Man's  Land,  I  began  to  recover  my  nerve  and 
saw  that  it  would  be  a  good  opportunity  to  mark 


NIGHTS  IN  NO  MAN'S  LAND      245 

the  position  of  one  of  these  machine-guns  which 
was  firing  just  above  my  head.  In  fact,  I  could, 
with  ease,  have  had  my  hand  drilled  just  by 
holding  it  up.  I  tore  a  page  out  of  my  note-book 
and  placed  it  in  a  crevice  between  the  sand-bags, 
just  under  the  gun.  Hours  afterward  when  all 
was  quiet  I  retiuned  to  our  own  trenches  and 
fastened  another  piece  of  white  paper  to  a  bush 
half-way  across  No  Man's  Land  that  I  noticed 
was  in  line  with  a  dead  tree  close  to  our  "sally- 
port," and  my  first  piece  of  paper.  In  the  morn- 
ing the  artillery  observation  officer  could  see 
these  two  pieces  of  paper  quite  plainly  with  his 
glasses,  and  that  trench  was  levelled  for  fifty 
yards. 

No  Man's  Land  is  a  place  of  surprises  where 
death  plucks  its  victims  without  warning.  There 
have  been  some  strange  deaths  there  when  bodies 
lay  with  unbroken  skin,  having  neither  mark  of 
bullet  nor  shell.  Times  when  the  spirit  laid  the 
body  down,  fair  and  unmarred  human  flesh,  but 
other  times  when  the  flesh  was  rent  to  ribbons  and 
the  bones  smashed  to  splinters  by  the  force  impris- 
oned in  a  shell. 

Such  was  the  death  meted  out  by  justice  to  six 
Germans  in  a  listening  post  fifty  yards  in  advance 
of  their  trench.  This  party  was  in  the  way  of 
our  raid.  We  could  not  enter  their  trench  by 
surprise  without  first  removing  it,  and  the  job 
fell  on  me.     I  prepared  a  mine  of  my  own.     I 


246  "OVER  THERE" 

took  two  Stokes  shells,  changed  the  time-fuse  for 
instantaneous,  took  out  the  safety-pins  holding 
the  lever  down  by  means  of  an  iron  ring.  I 
crept  out  with  these  shells  just  a  little  before 
dark  so  as  to  arrive  at  the  position  before  the 
Germans.  I  then  put  the  shells,  one  on  either 
side,  and  connected  them  with  a  fine  trip-wire 
tied  to  each  ring.  I  hurried  from  the  spot  as 
though  the  pestilence  were  after  me,  and  got 
back  safely — to  the  surprise  of  my  brother  officers 
who  very  consolingly  said  that  they  all  expected  I 
would  blow  myself  up.  At  half  past  eight,  how- 
ever, there  was  music  in  our  ears  of  a  loud  explo- 
sion in  the  direction  of  my  mine.  Next  morning, 
through  the  telescope,  could  be  seen  what  re- 
mained of  several  Hun  carcasses.  Pat,  my  bat- 
man, who  was  always  a  Job's  comforter,  informed 
me  that  the  Germans  would  lie  in  wait  for  me  to 
revenge  this  outrage ;  but  if  I  had  taken  any  notice 
of  him,  I  would  never  have  been  able  to  do  my 
job.  He  would  come  to  me  some  mornings  and 
beg  me  not  to  go  out  in  No  Man's  Land  that  night 
as  he  had  dreamed  that  I  was  "kilt,"  when  I  gen- 
erally consigned  him  to  a  place  where  the  Eng- 
Hsh  cease  from  troubHng,  and  the  Irish  are  at 
rest. 

The  enemy  did  his  share  in  surprises.  There 
was  one  occasion  when  I  received  word  from  the 
Tommies  on  our  right  that  a  large  German  patrol 
had  been  out  on  their  front  all  night.     As  they 


NIGHTS  IN  NO  MAN'S  LAND      247 

did  not  attack  I  was  considerably  worried  as  to 
what  they  were  up  to,  knowing  they  woiild  not 
be  there  for  the  benefit  of  their  health.  I  was 
responsible  that  our  portion  of  the  line  should 
be  guarded  from  surprise,  and  fear  of  some  im- 
known  calamity  that  might  spring  upon  us  from 
the  dark  made  me  so  concerned  that  I  lay  pretty 
nearly  all  day  on  top  of  the  parapet  covered  with 
sand-bags  searching  every  inch  of  No  Man's  Land 
for  a  sign  of  the  cause  of  their  nocturnal  activity. 
The  setting  sim  revealed  something  shining  that 
looked  like  the  barrel  of  a  Lewis  gun.  I  deter- 
mined to  go  out  and  get  it  after  dark.  When  I 
went  out  I  found  I  could  not  get  near  the  place, 
for  a  machine-gim  was  playing  round  it  to  dis- 
courage curiosity,  which  it  very  effectively  did. 
I  reported  next  morning  that  the  only  chance  of 
seeing  what  it  was  was  to  go  out  in  the  daytime, 
and  it  was  suspicious  enough  to  justify  the  risk. 
I  donned  a  green  suit  and  with  a. snail's  progress 
crawled  through  the  long  grass  and  discovered 
that  the  Germans  had  laid  a  five-inch  pipe  from 
their  trenches  to  within  fifty  yards  of  an  indenta- 
tion in  our  own.  They  would  be  able  to  enfilade 
us  with  gas  before  we  could  don  our  masks.  We 
looked  on  oin*  dangerous  wind  being  one  that 
blew  across  No  Man's  Land,  but  with  this  pipe 
we  would  be  gassed  when  the  wind  blew  down 
the  line  from  the  Tommies  to  us.  The  engineer 
ofiicer  wanted  to  blow  up  the  pipe,  but  I  thought 


248  "OVER  THERE" 

if  we  blocked  it  up  the  enemy  might  not  discover 
it,  and  put  through  gas  which  would  come  back 
on  himself.  Some  concrete  dugouts  were  being 
constructed  at  this  time,  and  I  took  out  a  bucket 
of  concrete  and  dtmiped  it  over  the  end  of  the 
pipe  in  broad  daylight  without  having  a  shot 
fired  at  me  or  being  seen.  Afterward  I  foimd 
crawling  in  the  daylight  in  No  Man's  Land  to 
be  less  dangerous  than  at  night.  On  a  quiet  front 
there  is  very  little  rifle  or  machine-gim  fire  by  day 
for  fear  of  betraying  machine-gun  and  sniper  posi- 
tions. Never  once  in  two  or  three  daylight  ex- 
cursions into  No  Man's  Land  was  I  seen  by^the 
enemy  or  our  own  sentries. 

Darkness  always  holds  fear  for  the  human 
heart,  and  it  is  the  imknown  danger  that  makes 
the  bravest  quail,  and  not  so  many  are  cowards 
in  the  daylight.  But  who  can  tell  which  holds  the 
more  peril  for  the  soldier  ?  He  faces  the  terror  that 
Cometh  by  night,  the  destruction  that  walketh  by 
day,  and  the  pestilence  that  wasteth  at  noonday. 
But  night  is  often  kindly — it  brings  the  balm  of 
sleep  to  our  tired  bodies  and  covers  coarseness 
and  filth  with  a  softening  veil.  No  Man's  Land 
at  night  is  more  beautiful  than  by  day,  for  we 
need  not  know  of  the  horror  we  do  not  see,  and  it 
shuts  us  off  from  sight  of  our  enemies,  and  lets 
us  feel  that  the  wall  is  thick  and  strong  that  stands 
between  oiu-  homes  and  women  kin,  and  the 
savagery    and    bestiality    of    the    monster   who 


NIGHTS  IN  NO  MAN'S  LAND     249 

ravaged  the  homes  and  raped  the  women  of  Bel- 
gium and  France. 

"B lit  if  there's  horror,  there's  beauty,  wonder; 
The  trench  lights  gleam  and  the  rockets  play. 
That  flood  of  magnificent  orange  yonder 
Is  a  battery  blazing  miles  away."  * 

*  Robert  W.  Service. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
SPY-HUNTING 

Man  is  by  instinct  and  tradition  a  hunter,  and 
there  is  no  sport  so  thrilling  as  man-hunting,  espe- 
cially if  the  hiinted  be  a  menace  to  society, 
and  more  especially  if  he  be  a  spy  that  threatens 
the  safety  of  yourself  and  comrades.  There  is 
also  in  this  branch  of  intelligence  service  an 
appeal  to  the  clash  of  wits  that  holds  fascination 
for  the  keen  mind.  The  German  spy  system  is  not 
more  clever  than  our  own,  but  has  been  more 
carefully  organized  and  much  longer  in  opera- 
tion. He  spies  also  on  friend  and  neutral,  while 
we  only  use  this  back-door  method  of  gleaning 
information  from  an  enemy.  The  word,  too, 
has  associations  that  are  ugly,  and  I  fancy  that 
our  spies  do  not  boast  of  their  service,  but  spy- 
hunting  is  a  service  that  has  no  taint,  and  there 
is  much  satisfaction  both  to  the  conscience  and 
intellect  in  routing  out  the  underground  worker 
who,  for  "filthy  lucre,"  would  seU  the  blood  of 
his  fellow  man.  The  traitor  and  the  spy  have 
in  aU  ages  been  rightly  considered  as  foul  beings 
who  poison  the  air  and  whose  touch  contaminates. 
In  Germany  alone  is  the  spy  given  honor  which 
is  fitting  in  a  country  which  has  substituted  Ex- 


SPY-HUNTING  251 

pediency  for  Honor  and  Plausibility  for  Truth, 
on  whose  throne  is  a  maniac,  and  where  Conscience 
has  been  unseated  by  Pride,  and  Reason  displaced 
by  Metlwd. 

Germany's  espionage  of  her  neighbors  has  been 
in  existence  so  long,  and  so  much  time  and  money 
have  been  expended  on  it  that  we  must  prepare 
for  its  reassertion  after  the  war  even  in  countries 
where  it  has  been  for  a  time  suppressed.  Its  hands 
have  been  cut  off,  but  the  plotting  brain  and  the 
murderous  heart  of  the  system  still  persist  and 
will  be  used  after  the  war  to  rehabiHtate  the  trade 
of  Germany  under  many  disguises,  and  will  also 
seek,  through  appeal  to  our  pity  for  a  fallen  nation, 
to  lull  us  into  slumber,  until  the  claws  and  fangs 
of  militarism  have  grown  again. 

We  are  so  new  in  the  game  that  our  methods 
in  spy-himting  are  cliimsy,  and  we  frequently 
give  warning  to  the  brains  of  the  system  to  seek 
cover  when  we  strike  at  its  puppets.  By  arrest- 
ing the  agents  of  the  German  master  spy  we  cut 
off  his  activity  for  a  time  but  allow  him  to  spread 
his  ramifications  in  other  directions,  and  the  first 
knowledge  we  have  that  he  has  sprung  to  life 
again  is  by  the  destruction  of  property  and  loss 
of  life  that  ensue.  It  would  sometimes  pay  us 
to  give  these  agents  more  and  more  rope,  keeping 
them  under  obser\'ation  until  we  can  strike  at 
the  centre  and  heart  of  all  this  plotting.  TVhen 
we  have  enough  e\'idence  against  one  of  these 


>> 


252  "OVER  THERE 

agents  for  a  death  penalty  we  should  allow  him 
to  purchase  his  life  by  betraying  his  master,  and 
as  these  agents  only  serve  for  hire  and  know  not 
what  loyalty  is,  they  are  always  ready  to  turn 
king's  evidence  if  the  price  offered  be  high  enough. 
Of  course,  they  should  not  be  given  their  liberty 
again,  but  segregated  like  the  carrier  of  a  conta- 
gious disease. 

It  should  always  be  remembered  that  a  man 
who  in  war-time  talks  sedition  and  disloyalty  in 
public  is  not  a  spy.  He  is  too  big  a  fool  to  be  ever 
employed  in  a  service  that  requires,  above  all 
things,  secrecy  and  the  ability  to  avert  suspicion. 
The  first  thing  a  spy  seeks  to  do  is  to  find  a  suit- 
able cloak  to  cover  his  designs,  and  also  to  place 
himself  in  a  position  where  he  will  gain  informa- 
tion. Among  the  first  things  he  would  do  wotdd 
be  to  seek  to  join  the  Red  Cross,  and  he  would  be 
almost  certain  to  enlist.  In  these  days  the  man  to 
be  suspicious  of  is  the  one  who  is  always  protest- 
ing his  loyalty  and  showing  what  he  is  doing  "to 
help  the  cause."  The  true  patriot  knows  that 
he  has  no  need  to  proclaim  his  loyalty,  and  is 
shy  of  boasting  of  service  that  is  really  a  "privilege 
and  a  duty." 

Among  the  most  usefiil  equipments  for  a  secret- 
service  agent  is  lip-reading,  and  if  he  can  signal 
with  his  eyelids  in  Morse  so  much  the  better. 
Dark  goggles,  one  glass  of  which  is  a  small  mirror, 
are  also  very  useful,  as  one  can  sit  with  one's  back 


SPY-HUNTING  253 

to  a  party  in  a  cafe  or  train,  and  read  what  they 
are  saying.  Women  are  the  most  d?ngerous 
spies,  and  trade  on  the  instinctive  chivalry  that 
men  cannot  help  but  extend  to  them.  There  are 
many  officers  whose  deaths  at  the  front  have 
been  suicides  because  they  were  betrayed  by  some 
woman  who  had  sucked  valuable  information  from 
them,  and  their  chivalry  would  not  let  them 
deliver  her  over  to  justice.  Men  in  high  place 
in  England  and  in  France  have  betrayed  the 
public  trust  through  faith  in  a  woman  who  was 
false  and  who  sold  their  confidence  to  the  enemy 
for  a  price  that  was  so  strong  to  their  hearts  as 
to  be  irresistible,  more  than  love,  honor,  or 
coimtry. 

Even  in  the  army  there  are  mysterious  hap- 
penings— shots  from  behind  and  strange  disap- 
pearances. There  was  one  Australian  general 
whose  death  created  many  rumors,  and  other 
officers  who  were  supposed  to  have  been  shot 
from  within  oiu*  lines. 

Of  coiu-se,  in  the  war  zone  among  a  strange 
peasantry  there  are  many  spy  scares,  and  maybe 
some  of  the  things  we  were  suspicious  of  were 
quite  innocent;  but  it  was  strange  that  when- 
ever a  gray  horse  appeared  near  a  battery  that 
battery  was  shelled,  and  when  they  painted  all 
the  gray  horses  green  their  positions  were  not  so 
frequently  spotted.  Sometimes  the  old  Flemish 
farmers  would  certainly  plough  their  fields  in  a 


254  *'OVER  THERE" 

strange  fashion  but,  perhaps,  zigzags  and  swas- 
tikas are  common  patterns  in  French  fields.  It 
may  have  been  our  alarmed  ears  that  fancied 
the  paper  boy  played  a  different  tune  on  his  horn 
every  day,  but  pigeons  did  certainly  rise  from 
the  middle  of  paddocks  contrary  to  the  habits 
of  these  birds. 

One  of  the  hardest  things  I  ever  did  was  to 
arrest  a  young  Belgian  girl  nineteen  years  of 
age  who  undoubtedly  was  the  means  of  the  death 
of  thousands  of  our  boys.  It  was  in  this  wise. 
One  night  I  observed  a  light  a  good  way  be- 
hind our  trenches  go  out  then  come  again.  I 
watched  it  very  carefully,  and  foimd  it  was 
signalling  by  the  Morse  code  with  dashes  ten 
seconds  long  and  the  dots  five.  If  you  were  not 
watching  it  very  carefully  you  would  never  have 
dreamt  it  was  anything  but  a  flicker  of  light.  The 
letters  I  read  were— NRUDTVEAUAOILN, 
which,  when  decoded,  gave  important  informa- 
tion regarding  the  movement  of  troops.  I  took 
a  line  through  some  trees  of  the  direction  from 
which  the  light  came  and  walked  toward  it.  Just 
off  an  old  drain  I  found  an  overturned  wagon 
with  a  loophole  cut  through  the  backboard.  There 
were  footprints  in  the  drain,  and  the  grass  was 
pressed  down  where  a  body  had  been  lying.  For 
five  nights  I  lay  in  wait,  my  hopes  keyed  up  to 
the  highest  point  of  expectation.  At  last  to  me 
was  to  fall  the  good  fortune  of  capturing  a  spy 
— ^perhaps  to  end  the  leakage  of  information  of  our 


SPY-HUNTING  255 

plans  that  we  knew  the  Germans  were  getting. 
But    on    these    five    nights    nothing    happened. 
The  day  afterward,  some  boys  of  a  battery  whom 
I  asked  to  watch  this  drain  caught  an  old  farmer 
in  it.    This  farmer,  however,  who  lived  next  door 
to  our  brigade  headquarter^  had  been  carefully 
watched,    and  the   information  had   come   from 
outside  the  zone  which  he  never  left.     Some  one 
must    have    brought    the    information    to    him. 
Everybody  using  those  roads  had  to  have  a  pass- 
port issued  by  the  French  intelligence  service, 
and  countersigned  by  the  intelligence  officer  of 
the  area.     Elimination  narrowed  suspicion  to  a 
paper  girl  who,  it  was  foimd,  sold  out  her  papers 
round  the  batteries  and  billets  at  ten  o'clock, 
and  did  not  return  imtil  after  three.    The  excuse 
she  gave  was  that  she  was  visiting  her  brother's 
grave,  but  on  looking  up  her  records  we  found 
that  she  had  never  had  a  brother.     One  day  I 
kept  her  in  sight  on  the  road  while  I  rode  across  the 
fields.     After  she  entered  the  house  where  she  was 
living  at  Estaires  I  followed  and  opened  the  door. 
As  soon  as  she  saw  me  she  fainted.     I  blew  my 
whistle,  and  on  arrival  of  the  picket  we  searched 
the  house  and  found  the  German  code  with  some 
maps    and    other    incriminating    documents.      I 
never  did  a  harder  task  in  my  life  than  hand  that 
girl  over  to  the  French  authorities  for  possible 
execution.     She  was  a  very  pretty,  happy  little 
girl,  red-haired  and  blue-eyed,  and,  although  one 
could  show  no  pity  because  the  safety  and  life 


2S6  "OVER  THERE" 

of  thousands  were  at  stake,  yet  it  wrung  the  heart 
to  think  of  the  wastage  of  the  young,  bright  life, 
the  victim  of  German  gold,  and  the  treachery 
that  is  the  handmaiden  of  war,  and  preys  on  the 
weakness  of  the  moral  nature. 

There  was  another  occasion  when  I  imearthed 
a  spy's  burrow.  One  night  a  man  in  D  Company 
stopped  me  on  the  road,  and  pointing  out  a  lonely 
farmhouse,  told  me  he  had  seen  some  blue  sparks 
flashing  from  the  chimney.  We  walked  across 
and,  entering  the  flagged  kitchen,  asked  for  "cafe 
au  lait."  Sitting  at  the  white  table  worn  with 
much  scrubbing,  and  slowly  sipping  the  coffee, 
we  engaged  the  old  man  and  woman  in  conver- 
sation. They  were  very  bitter  in  their  denuncia- 
tion of  "les  boches,"  and  spoke  of  their  sacrifices 
as  nothing.  "Why,  monsieur,  it  is  for  France! 
It  is  not  for  us  to  complain  if  she  ask  much  from 
us."  My  companion  spoke  French  very  fluently 
(his  name  was  Davies),  and  he  acted  as  inter- 
preter. I  noticed  that  they  seemed  anxious  to 
get  rid  of  us,  but  we  stayed  for  several  hours 
getting  the  old  lady  to  cook  us  eggs  and  chipped 
potatoes,  and  talking  on  almost  every  topic  but 
the  war.  One  suspicious  circimistance  that  had 
caught  my  eye  as  soon  as  we  entered  the  kitchen 
was  the  fact  that  the  flue  of  the  stove  did  not 
lead  up  the  chimney,  but  out  through  a  hole  in 
the  wall. 

At  last,  when  we  rose  to  go  the  old  man  in 


SPY-HUNTING  257 

an  excess  of  hospitality  accompanied  us  fifty 
yards  on  our  way.  We  promised  to  bring  some 
companions  on  another  day.  "But  no,  mon- 
sieur, that  will  not  do — we  cannot  get  more  eggs, 
and  my  wife  she  is  a  little  afraid  of  the  soldat 
from  Australie." 

After  he  left  us  and  returned  to  the  farm  we 
doubled  back,  and  round  to  the  other  side. 
Soon  we  heard  the  crackle  of  wireless.  Ex- 
pecting that  the  door  woiild  be  fast  bolted,  we 
smashed-in  a  window,  almost  knocking  over  the 
old  woman  as  she  barred  our  way.  Looking  up 
the  chimney,  I  foimd  there  as  neat  a  small  set  of 
wireless  as  was  ever  "made  in  Germany."  The 
motor  was  in  the  cellar  and  well-muffled.  The 
old  chap  hesitated  to  come  down,  but  a  shot  that 
brought  down  some  plaster  hurried  his  decision. 
In  spite  of  the  old  woman's  pretended  fear  of 
Australians,  she  evidently  did  not  think  we  were 
adamant  to  pity.  On  her  knees  with  much  weep- 
ing she  begged  us  to  let  them  go  away,  and  shifted 
rapidly  from  one  groimd  of  appeal  to  another. 
She  said  her  husband  was  crazy  and  his  wires 
and  things  did  no  harm;  he  was  trying  to  talk 
to  "le  President,"  but  no  answer  ever  came. 
She  would  have  him  locked  up.  "You  would  not 
harm  an  old  mother  of  France!"  I  told  her  she 
wasn't  French,  but  German,  of  which  I  had  had 
suspicions  all  along.  She  then  spat  at  us  and 
told  us  to  do  our  worst,  but  the  old  man  merely 


2S8  *'OVER  THERE" 

stood  there  and  scowled,  and  as  he  stood  upright, 
with  folded  arms,  we  judged  he  was  not  as  old 
by  twenty  years  as  he  appeared,  though  his  make- 
up was  perfect.  We  marched  them  through 
the  village  under  the  curious  eyes  of  many  of 
our  own  comrades,  but  the  eager  gesticulations 
of  the  French  people,  and  the  fierce  blaze  of 
rage  in  the  eyes  of  the  women  showed  us  that 
they  had  no  friends  among  the  neighbors,  and 
revealed  to  us  the  smouldering  fires  of  hate 
that  the  French  people  have  for  the  brutal  in- 
vader. I  fancy  the  dastardly  pair  were  glad 
of  our  protection  for  all  their  looks  of  defiance. 
They  knew  that  a  spy  would  meet  short  shrift 
at  the  hands  of  these  French  women  whose  un- 
tamed spirit  was  the  same  as  that  of  the  Margots 
of  the  Parisian  gutters  in  the  Reign  of  Terror. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
BAPAUME  AND   "A  BLIGHTY" 

How  many  weeks  I  lay  under  the  shadow  of 
the  church-tower  of  Bapaume  I  know  not.  But 
every  morning  as  the  mist  Hfted  the  church-tower 
would  reappear  through  the  trees,  and  now  and 
again  the  flash  of  a  glass  would  show  that  it  was 
an  observation-post  of  the  enemy,  and  frequently 
well-placed  shells  on  our  trenches  and  dumps 
would  show  to  what  deviHsh  uses  our  enemies 
were  putting  the  house  of  God  as  they  directed 
their  shell-fire  from  a  seat  just  under  the  cross 
on  the  tower. 

This  is  a  very  old,  historic  town  of  France, 
and  the  sentiment  of  the  French  people  would 
not  have  it  shelled.  So  we  lay  these  weeks  within 
cooee  of  a  nest  of  our  enemies,  who  were  per- 
mitted the  safety  and  comfort  of  a  peaceful  home 
almost  within  our  lines.  There  are  other  places 
along  the  line  where  we  are  under  the  same  dis- 
advantage. There  is  the  city  of  Lille  with  its 
million  or  more  of  French  inhabitants  lying  with- 
in five  miles  of  our  lines  (such  easy  range),  for 
over  three  years,  and  not  a  shell  fired  into  it. 
How  the  Germans  smile  as  their  bases  of  opera- 
tion He  in  such  security,  for,  of  course,  sentiment 

259 


26o  "OVER  THERE" 

has  been  erased  from  the  German  character  for- 
ever. 

The  French  made  the  mistake  again  in  regard 
to  Bapaume  of  crediting  the  Germans  with  hu- 
man feelings — they  vainly  hoped  that  the  Ger- 
mans would  respect  historic  monuments  when 
they  gained  no  miHtary  advantage  by  destroying 
them.  But  every  day  that  the  war  is  prolonged 
is  but  adding  to  the  evidence  already  so  colossal 
that  the  German  is  a  beast  who  wantonly  de- 
stroys and  takes  sheer  joy  in  slaying,  burning, 
and  smashing,  destroying  for  destruction's  sake, 
and  killing  for  the  sight  of  blood.  When  we  drove 
the  Germans  from  Bapaume  they  left  it  in  ruins 
as  utter  as  though  we  had  bombarded  it,  but 
so  much  more  systematic  was  their  destruction ! 
In  the  market  square  there  is  a  hole  large  enough 
to  hold  a  cathedral,  made  by  the  mine  they  ex- 
ploded as  they  left,  which  was  so  senseless  as 
almost  to  make  it  seem  that,  like  children,  they 
wanted  to  hear  how  big  a  bang  they  coiild  make. 
But  their  devilish  lack  of  humor  is  more  plainly 
shown  in  the  system  with  which  they  destroyed 
the  orchards  in  the  country  further  back.  Every 
tree  was  cut  at  exactly  the  same  height  from  the 
ground,  and  carefully  laid  in  the  selfsame  way. 
Not  one  of  them  deviated  a  hair's  breadth  in  its 
position  on  the  ground  from  the  angle  made 
by  its  neighbor.  They  must  have  spent  hours 
in  obtaining  such  hellish  regularity.     Wed  Sys- 


BAPAUME  AND   "A  BLIGHTY'*     261 

tern  to  Lust,  and  you  have  an  alliance  of  Satan 
with  the  hag  Sycorax,  and  their  offspring  is  the 
German  Empire,  the  Caliban  of  nations. 

The  highest  point  of  the  church-tower,  how- 
ever, before  the  days  of  our  advance,  was  its  cross, 
and  in  our  misery  we  could  always  see  this  symbol 
of  hope  and  salvation ;  but  it  was  a  reminder  too 
of  pain  and  suffering  endured  that  man's  spirit 
might  be  free,  and  as  we  also  were  suffering  and 
enduring  in  freedom's  cause,  we  knew  that  our 
strife  was  reUgion  and  our  accomplishment  would 
be  salvation. 

And  what  we  endured  In  that  bitter  cold  has 
scarred  our  memories  and  added  to  our  bodies 
the  aging  of  years.  In  the  chronic  agony  of  cold 
the  pain  of  woimds  was  an  alleviation,  and  I  have 
seen  men  who  had  just  had  their  arms  blown  off 
wave  the  jagged  stump  and  laugh  as  they  called 
out — "Got  a  'blighty'  at  last,  sir!"  We  were 
standing  up  to  our  waists  in  liquid  mud  by  day, 
into  which  we  would  freeze  at  night.  I  have  gone 
along  the  trench  and  kicked  and  punched  my  boys 
into  sensibility,  and  said:  "Is  there  anything  I 
can  do  for  you,  boys?  Can't  I  get  you  any- 
thing?" "Oh,  no  sir.  We're  all  right,  but  don't 
we  envy  old  Nick  and  his  imps  to-night !"  Who 
is  there  that  is  not  abashed  in  the  presence  of  a 
spirit  like  that?  And  had  you  been  there  and 
these  your  men,  wouldn't  you  love  them  as  I 
do  ?   Never  did  the  spirit  of  man  rise  more  glorious 


262  "OVER  THERE" 

to  the  demand  of  hard  occasion,  than  when  those 
boys  of  Australia  laughed  and  joked  in  the  tor- 
tures of  hell.  Eighty  per  cent  of  them  had  never 
known  a  temperature  lower  than  thirty  above 
zero,  and  here  was  a  cold  more  biting  than  they 
had  ever  dreamed  of  and  they  were  without  pro- 
tection, living  in  a  filthy  ditch,  never  dry,  their 
clothing  imable  to  keep  out  wet  or  cold.  Back 
in  camp  every  man  had  a  complaint,  where  it  is 
the  province  of  the  soldier  to  grumble.  In  those 
days  the  orderly  officer  would  go  roimd  with  his 
question  of  "Any  complaints?"  "Yes,  look 
here,  sir.  What  do  you  think  of  that  ?"  "Why, 
dear  me,  man,  it  seems  very  good  soup !"  "Yes, 
sir,  but  it  is  supposed  to  be  stew!"  Why,  if  the 
Australian  soldier  did  not  complain,  you  might 
well  suspect  a  mutiny  brewing !  Too  much  mar- 
malade, and  not  enough  plum !  etc.  I  never 
thought  there  was  as  much  marmalade  in  the 
world  as  I  myself  have  consimied  on  active  ser- 
vice !  Those  days  when  we  were  well  off,  and 
did  not  know  it,  with  dry  beds  and  a  clean  tent, 
with  good  warm  food,  and  plenty  to  eat  and  drink, 
the  boys  were  always  "kicking"  about  something 
or  other,  but  now  when  things  were  hellish  bad 
under  conditions  when  wounds  were  a  luxury 
and  death  a  release  you  never  heard  a  complaint. 
There  were  days  too  when  an  enemy  barrage  cut 
off  our  supplies  and  prevented  relief,  and  we  were 
compelled  to  live  on  dry  biscuits  and  cold  water, 


BAPAUME  AND   *' A  BLIGHTY"     263 

taking  our  water  from  the  shell-holes  where  the 
dead  were  rotting.  I  remember  when  I  was 
wounded  and  being  carried  out  of  the  trench 
my  brother  officers  saying  to  me:  "Oh,  Knyvett, 
you  lucky  dog  !"  And  I  was  lucky,  and  knew  it, 
though  I  had  twenty  wounds  and  trench  feet. 
Why,  when  I  arrived  at  the  hospital  and  lay  in 
a  real  bed,  with  real  sheets,  and  warm  blankets, 
with  a  roof  over  my  head  that  didn't  leak,  and 
a  fire  in  the  room,  with  the  nurse  now  and  again 
to  come  along  and  smile  on  me,  I  tell  you  heaven 
had  no  extra  attractions  to  offer  me.  The  man 
who  got  wounded  in  those  days  was  a  lucky  dog, 
all  right;  in  fact,  he  mostly  is  at  all  times,  and 
about  the  silliest  thing  the  War  Office  ever  did 
was  to  issue  an  honor  stripe  for  wounds.  The 
man  deserving  of  the  greatest  credit  is  not  the 
man  who  gets  wounded,  but  the  man  who  stays 
on  in  the  trenches  week  after  week,  and  month 
after  month  endiiring  the  nervous  strain  and 
unnatural  conditions,  living  like  a  rat  in  a  hole 
in  the  groimd.  There  are  none  who  have  been 
there  for  any  length  of  time  who  do  not  welcome 
the  sharp  pain  of  a  wound  as  a  relief. 

The  Germans  opposite  us  in  their  trenches  at 
Bapaiime  were,  of  course,  in  as  bad  a  plight  as 
we  were.  When  I  scouted  down  their  trenches 
at  night  I  found  equipment  and  stores  lying  on 
top  of  the  parapet.  Evidently,  the  mud  in  the 
bottom  of  their  trenches  was  as  bad  as  in  ours. 


>» 


264  "OVER  THERE 

and  anything  dropped  had  to  be  fished  for.  Per- 
haps there  were  no  deep  dugouts  just  there.  We 
would  not  allow  our  men  to  use  these  deep  dug- 
outs as  nothing  so  conduces  to  bad  morale.  Once 
men  get  deep  down  out  of  range  of  the  shells  they 
are  very,  very  reluctant  to  leave  their  "funk- 
holes."  A  man  has  to  be  hardened  to  shell -fire 
before  he  is  of  any  value  as  a  fighter,  and  these 
deep  dugouts  take  men  out  of  reach  of  most  of 
the  shells,  and  when  they  come  in  the  open  again 
they  have  to  be  hardened  anew. 

It  is  not  generally  a  wise  plan  to  occupy  the  old 
German  trench,  as  he  has  the  range  of  it  very  ac- 
curately, and  anyway  it  is  in  most  cases  so  badly 
battered  about  after  our  artillery  has  done  with 
it  as  not  to  be  at  all  superior  as  a  residence  to 
the  shell-holes  in  front  of  it,  and  it  is  mostly  full 
of  dead  Germans  which  are  unearthed  by  the 
shells  as  often  as  we  bury  them.  God  knows  the 
smell  of  a  live  German  is  not  a  pleasant  thing 
to  live  near,  but  as  for  dead  ones !  .  .  .  Our 
method  was  to  construct  a  new  trench  about 
fifty  yards  in  advance  by  linking  up  a  chain  of 
shell-holes,  and  we  felt  the  labor  to  be  worth 
while  when  we  saw  the  shells  falling  behind  us, 
and  it  was  not  much  harder  than  if  we  had  had 
to  clean  out  the  old  German  trench. 

On  our  right  flank  there  was  a  gap  of  a  hun- 
dred yards  that  we  patrolled  two  or  three  times 
a  night,  and  in  our  net  we  sometimes  caught  some 


BAPAUME  AND   "A  BLIGHTY'*     265 

Germans  who  were  lost.  On  one  occasion  a  Ger- 
man with  a  string  of  water-bottles  roimd  his  neck, 
and  a  "grunt"  that  may  have  been  a  password, 
stepped  down  into  our  trench.  He  had  evidently- 
been  out  to  get  water  for  himself  and  comrades 
from  their  nearest  supply,  and  taken  the  wrong 
turning!  He  made  an  attempt  at  a  grin  when 
he  found  where  he  was,  and  evidently  thought 
the  change  could  not  be  for  the  worse.  He  was 
so  thick  in  the  head,  however — I  have  known  cows 
with  more  intelligence — that  I  wonder  any  other 
German  being  fool  enough  to  trust  him  with  such 
a  valuable  article  as  a  water-bottle. 

We  were  planning  to  take  a  portion  of  the 
trench  opposite  to  straighten  our  line,  and  I  had 
scouted  down  a  hundred  yards  of  it  from  behind, 
and  got  a  good  idea  of  the  strength  with  which 
it  was  held,  taking  bearings  of  its  position.  The 
next  night,  as  the  attack  was  to  take  place  at 
daybreak,  I  thought  I  had  better  go  over  and 
make  sure  that  I  had  made  no  mistakes.  I  crossed 
over  the  first  trench  without  any  difficulty.  There 
did  not  seem  to  be  any  one  on  guard.  I  then 
went  toward  their  support  lines  where  there  seemed 
to  be  more  men,  mostly  working  parties.  I  passed 
these  and  with  impardonable  carelessness  stood 
up  to  have  a  look  round,  thinking  that  it  was  too 
dark  for  me  to  be  seen.  But  I  got  a  shock  to  find 
there  was  a  sentry  almost  beside  me — though  he 
was,  if  anything,  more  scared  than  myself.     He 


266  "OVER  THERE" 

pulled  the  trigger  without  taking  aim  and  nat- 
urally missed  me,  but  if  he  had  been  wide-awake 
he  could  with  ease  have  ptmctured  me  with  his 
bayonet.  I  did  not  stop  to  pass  the  time  of  day 
with  him,  for  the  place  seemed  suddenly  alive 
with  Huns  as  he  called  "Heinz,  Heinz!" — prob- 
ablfr  the  name  of  his  corporal — but  I  dived  into 
a  shell-hole  and  flattened  myself  as  much  as  pos- 
sible. As  I  was  lost  to  sight  and  to  memory  too 
dear  to  be  allowed  to  escape  they  began  to  cover 
the  ground  with  bombs.  These  all  went  well 
beyond  me,  and  had  it  not  been  for  "Butter- 
fingers"  I  might  have  escaped.  But  a  bomb 
slipped  from  his  hand,  rolling  into  the  hole  in 
front  of  him.  He  jumped  back  into  the  safety 
of  the  trench,  and  did  not  know  that  the  bomb 
had  fallen  on  me  as  it  exploded.  But  I  knew 
it — my  left  leg  was  broken  in  three  places,  twelve 
wounds  in  my  right,  and  others  on  my  back,  twenty 
that  afterward  had  to  be  dressed,  not  counting 
some  other  scratches.  Then  they  came  out  to 
look  for  me,  my  "friend"  almost  stepping  on  me, 
but  after  half  an  hour's  fruitless  search  they 
gave  up.  About  two  hours  later  I  started  home 
on  my  long,  painful  crawl.  It  took  me  about 
twenty  minutes  to  pass  the  sentry  near  where 
I  was  lying,  but  after  that  there  was  no  danger 
of  discovery — the  front  line  still  appearing  al- 
most unoccupied;  but  I  was  getting  dizzy  and 
not  sure  of  my  direction.    I  knew,  however,  where 


BAPAUME  AND   "A  BLIGHTY"     267 

there  was  a  derelict  aeroplane  in  No  Man's  Land, 
and  made  toward  it.  When  I  sighted  this  I  was 
overcome  with  relief,  and  laid  my  face  in  the 
mud  for  a  while  to  recover.  I  had  now  crawled 
about  six  hundred  yards  dragging  my  useless 
legs.  And  my  elbows  were  skinned  through,  being 
used  as  grapples  that  I  dug  in  the  ground  ahead, 
in  that  way  dragging  myself  a  few  inches  at  a 
time.  I  knew  our  trenches  were  still  about  two 
hundred  yards  away,  and  the  sweat  of  fear  broke 
out  on  me  as  I  remembered  the  two  machine- 
guns  in  front  of  me  that  would  fire  on  anything 
seen  moving  out  there,  no  one  expecting  me 
to  return  that  way:  So  I  crawled  higher  up  the 
line,  where  it  was  safer  to  enter,  and  a  few  yards 
from  our  trenches  gave  oiu*  scouting  call.  Sev- 
eral of  my  boys  came  running  out  and  tenderly 
picked  me  up.  I  was  all  in  and  could  not  move 
a  muscle.  My  own  boys  would  not  allow  the 
stretcher-bearers  to  touch  me,  but  six  of  them 
put  me  on  a  stretcher  and  carried  me  over  the 
top  just  as  day  was  breaking.  They  would  not 
go  down  into  the  communication-trench  or  shell- 
holes  because  they  thought  it  would  be  too  rough 
on  me,  and  so  carried  me  over  the  exposed  ground; 
and  when  they  got  me  to  the  dressing-station 
they  said:  "You  will  come  back  to  us,  sir,  won't 
you?"  I  said:  "Yes,  boys,  you  bet  I  will!" 
And  you  may  bet  that  I  shall,  as  soon  as  ever  I 
am  passed  as  fit  again. 


268  "OVER  THERE" 

The  pain  of  my  wounds  was  soon  altogether 
forgotten,  for  each  medical  officer  that  examined 
me  finished  up  with  the  liquid  melody  of  the 
phrase:  "Blighty  for  you  !"  My  leave  was  long 
past  due,  and  the  very  next  day  I  was  to  report 
for  transfer  to  the  Australian  wing  of  the  Royal 
Flying  Corps,  which  would  have  meant  several 
weeks'  training  in  England,  but  "the  best  laid 
schemes  o'  mice  an'  men  gang  aft  a-gley!" — and 
there's  a  science  shapes  our  ends,  rough-hack  them 
though  Htms  may ! 


PART  V 
HOSPITAL   LIFE 


CHAPTER  XXVII 
IN  FRANCE 

My  hospital  experiences  in  France  were  a  pro- 
cession of  five  nights  with  intermissions  of  days 
spent  in  travel.  From  the  advance  dressing- 
station  I  was  slid  over  the  mud  for  three  miles  in 
a  sledge  drawn  by  the  Methuselah  of  horses  bor- 
rowed from  some  French  farmhouse.  His  anti- 
quarian gait  suited  me,  and  this  was  the  smooth- 
est of  the  many  torturous  forms  of  travel  I 
endured  before  I  was  able  once  again  to  move  up- 
rightly on  my  feet  as  a  man  should. 

At  Trones  Wood  I  was  swung  into  a  horse  am- 
bulance and  thereafter  swung  and  swayed  for  a 
couple  of  hours  until,  closing  my  eyes,  I  could 
fancy  I  was  once  again  at  sea.  This  was  rougher 
than  the  sledge,  but  endurable  and  certainly  the 
most  comfortable  of  all  the  wheeled  vehicles  in 
which  I  travelled.  I  bless  the  inventor  of  the 
springs  that  kept  it  swajdng  gently  on  a  road  all 
ruts  and  holes. 

I  was  deposited  on  the  table  of  the  operating- 
theatre  in  the  field-ambulance,  while  a  surgeon 
overhauled    me  to  see  if  there  was  any  injury 

necessitating  an  immediate  operation.     Satisfied 

271 


272  "OVER  THERE" 

that  I  was  merely  broken  and  punctured,  I  was 
transferred  to  a  cot  and  so  began  my  first  hospital 
night.  I  was  known  personally  to  all  the  doctors 
in  our  field-ambulance.  I  had  on  several  occa- 
sions messed  with  them,  and  they  were  always 
very  keenly  interested  in  my  yams  of  No  Man's 
Land,  so  when  the  news  spread  that  I  had  been 
brought  in  wounded  I  soon  had  a  group  round 
my  bed,  some  of  them  in  pyjamas  being  roused 
from  their  sleep  to  hear  the  news.  One  of  them 
very  gleefully  said:  "Hullo,  Knyvett,  old  man — 
I've  just  won  five  pounds  on  you.  We  had  a  bet 
that  you  would  not  last  out  another  month. 
You  know  you've  had  a  pretty  good  innings  and 
mighty  lucky  only  to  get  woimded."  But  at  that 
moment  I  was  not  in  the  mood  to  appreciate 
this  form  of  humor,  until  one  of  them,  seeing  I 
was  pretty  uncomfortable,  gave  me  an  injection 
of  morphia.  But  I  was  very  glad  to  be  resting 
there  and  felt  I  could  hardly  have  endured  a 
longer  journey  without  a  spell.  I  was  given  here 
the  first  good  hot  meal  I  had  had  for  weeks, 
though  I  had  been  given  a  drink  of  steaming-hot 
coffee  in  the  ambulance.  There  was  not  much 
sleep  to  be  got,  as  a  constant  stream  of  men  were 
being  brought  in  and  taken  away,  and  now  and 
again  shells  would  fall  quite  close,  but  the  ground 
thereabouts  was  very  soft,  and  I  counted  fifteen 
shells  that  fell  close  by  with  a  wouf  and  a  squelch, 
but  did  not  explode.     This  hospital  was  all  imder 


IN  FRANCE  273 

canvas,  just  three  or  four  big  marquees  and  a 
score  or  so  of  tents  for  the  medical  officers  and 
orderhes,  and  any  incHnation  that  I  had  to  com- 
plain was  taken  away  by  the  sight  of  "walking 
cases"  strolling  in  with  an  arm  gone,  or  a  hole  in 
the  cheek,  or  their  jaw  smashed,  many  far  worse 
than  I  was,  who  would  sit  there  waiting  their 
turn  to  be  examined,  and  then  walk  out  again  to 
the  ambulance  that  carried  them  on  to  the  next 
hospital. 

Next  morning  I  was  carried  out  to  a  motor- 
ambulance  and  started  on  the  most  painful  trip 
of  my  life.  The  driver  took  reasonable  care,  but 
could  not  go  too  slow,  for  another  load  was  waiting 
for  him  as  soon  as  he  could  return,  but  I  am  stue 
that  I  felt  every  stone  in  that  road.  I  got  the 
attendant  to  wedge  me  in  with  pillows,  but  only 
by  holding  myself  off  from  the  wall  with  both  my 
hands  could  I  ease  the  bump,  and  then  I  would 
wait  with  dread  for  the  next  one.  I  don't  know  if 
the  other  three  fellows  lying  in  the  ambulance  with 
me  were  as  sore  as  I  was,  but  I  picture  to-day  the 
hours  that  those  ambulances  travel  with  wounded 
men  as  being  added  together  and  totalling  a  cen- 
tury of  pain.  Perhaps  after  the  war  is  ended, 
when  it  is  too  late,  some  one  may  invent  a  motor 
ambulance  on  easy  springs  that  will  not  multiply 
unnecessarily  the  pain  of  torn  flesh  and  the  grating 
edges  of  bones. 


274  "OVER  THERE" 

Now  comes  the  night  in  the  casualty  clearing- 
station  at  Heilly.  Straight  on  to  another  operat- 
ing-table, but  one  in  a  sea  of  many — ten  operations 
going  on  at  once.  Then  began  the  probing  for 
pieces  of  metal  in  my  wounds.  "Good  God!" 
remarked  the  surgeon,  "the  best  thing  we  can 
do  is  to  run  a  magnet  over  you.  We'll  never 
find  them  all  otherwise."  Nor  did  they,  for  I 
carry  some  of  them  still  in  my  body  as  permanent 
souvenirs  of  the  few  words  I  had  with  Fritz. 
There  was  a  nurse  in  the  theatre  with  smiHng 
face,  laughing  blue  eyes,  and  tumbled  curls  fall- 
ing beneath  her  cap,  and  a  brief  acquaintance  of 
one  day  was  formed  on  the  spot.  She  was  attend- 
ing another  case,  and  a  wink  and  a  smile  served 
for  introduction.  She  came  and  visited  me  in 
the  ward  that  night  and  we  chatted  a  brief  hour, 
then  she  was  gone,  and  I  know  not  even  her  name. 
So  ships  meet,  dip  their  flag,  and  pass  into  the 
night. 

In  the  bed  opposite  me  in  this  hospital  there  was 
a  German  officer  and  he  bellowed  like  a  bull  all 
night.  We  got  pretty  sick  of  his  noise  and  told 
the  medical  officer  in  charge  of  the  ward  when  he 
came  on  his  rounds  in  the  morning  that  if  he  did 
not  chloroform  or  do  something  to  silence  the 
hound,  we  would.  I  suggested  that  he  go  and  tell 
him  that  if  he  did  not  shut  up  he  would  be  sent 
into  the  ward  with  his  own  privates.  He  did  so 
and   there  was   not   another  squeak  from  him. 


IN  FRANCE  275 

After  breakfast  warm  sweaters,  helmets,  scarfs, 
and  mitts  were  issued  to  each  of  us  and  we  were 
wrapped  in  warm  blankets  and  carried  out  to  a 
hospital-train  near  by.  Before  I  left,  however,  I 
wrote  out  the  report  of  my  reconnoissance  of  the 
German  trenches  and  despatched  it  by  orderly  to 
G.  H.  Q.  All  my  possessions  I  carried  in  my  hand 
in  a  small  bag  not  nearly  as  big  as  a  lady's  knit- 
ting-bag.  My  kit  was  "somewhere  in  France" 
and  my  uniform  had  been  cut  off  me  and  was  prob- 
ably  ascending  as  incense  from  some  incinerator, 
in  a  ritual  that  was  an  appropriate  end  after  much 
service.  Everything  was  supposed  to  be  taken  out 
of  my  pockets  (which  I  have  no  doubt  happened) 
and  sent  to  me  (which  certainly  did  not  happen), 
I  have  no  sympathy  with  the  old  sanitary  sergeant 
who  superintended  the  last  rites  in  the  passing  of 
my  much-lived-in  clothes  when  he  was  slightly 
wounded  by  a  bullet  from  a  cartridge  that  some- 
how or  other  dropped  into  the  fire  at  the  same 
time.  These  incinerators  frequently  very  nearly 
caused  shell-shock  to  the  sanitary  squad,  and  they 
might  just  as  well  have  been  in  the  actual  trenches, 
for  in  the  gathering  up  of  rubbish  around  the 
camp  cartridges  would  frequently  be  thrown  with 
it  into  the  fire  and  explosions  would  ensue  like  the 
firing  of  a  machine-gim,  and  bullets  would  whizz  in 
all  directions.  Once  a  mule  got  shot,  but  it's  a 
wonder  that  other  flesh  less  valuable  was  not  oc- 
casionally punctured,  for  these  incinerators  were 


276  **OVER  THERE" 

just  on  the  edge  of  the  camp  and  generally  had 
a  group  round  them  of  those  who  preferred  being 
fire-tenders  to  ramrod-shovers. 

The  hospital-train  bore  us  with  many  inter- 
ruptions and  frequent  side-trackings  toward  the 
Channel  and  "Blighty."  In  England  hospital- 
trains  take  precedence  over  all  other  traffic,  but 
here  in  France  there  were  many  other  things  more 
important  for  the  winning  of  the  war  than 
woimded  men,  so  hospital-trains  had  to  step  aside 
and  give  the  right  of  way  to  the  shells,  guns, 
cartridges,  and  food  for  the  men  still  facing  the 
foe.  So  my  third  night  was  spent  on  the  rails 
lying  snugly  in  a  car  wrapped  in  many  blankets, 
and  only  disturbed  by  having  to  "smoke"  a  ther- 
mometer every  two  or  three  hotirs,  and  by  the 
nurse  rousing  me  at  six  "ack  emma"  (a.  m.)  to  have 
my  face  and  hands  washed,  which  is  a  mania  that 
afflicts  all  nurses.  A  nin-se  has  only  one  fear, 
that  of  displeasing  the  doctor,  and  though  all 
should  perish,  everything  must  be  spotless  when 
he  makes  his  rounds.  A  doctor  is  the  only  man 
who  can  awe  a  woman  and  obtain  perfect  obedi- 
ence. Of  course  I  am  referring  to  them  pro- 
fessionally, and  not  in  their  domestic  relations. 
I  knew  a  nurse  in  a  military  hospital  who  woke 
up  a  patient,  who  was  enjoying  his  first  soinid 
sleep  for  weeks,  to  administer  a  sleeping-draft. 
When  she  was  remonstrated  with  she  said  "the 


It 


IN  FRANCE  277 

doctor  ordered  it."  In  France  there  has  been 
since  the  war  much  "coal-saving,"  and  had  it  not 
been  that  I  had  been  careful  to  have  with  me  emer- 
gency rations  of  blankets,  I  would  have  perished 
with  the  cold.  I  was  told  that  the  engine-drivers 
were  given  a  commission  on  what  coal  they  saved, 
so  all  the  steam  we  got  through  the  warming-pipes 
hardly  took  the  frost  off  them.  Only  the  men  in 
the  bottom  cots  were  able  to  see  the  scenery  we 
passed  through,  and  we  up-stairs  could  have 
murdered  them  with  pleasure  as  they  kept  call- 
ing out:  "By  George!  You  should  see  this!" 
That's  the  funniest  sight  I've  seen  in  my  life !" 
Isn't  that  a  lovely  sight!"  etc.  But  journeys, 
even  on  French  railways,  come  to  an  end  even- 
tually, though  it  only  be  second-class  traffic,  and 
with  much  joy  did  we  welcome  the  news  that  we 
were  running  into  Rouen. 

In  the  small  hours  of  the  morning  with  the 
mist  still  trailing  through  the  streets  we  were 
driven  to  the  Infirmary  for  Aged  Women  (which 
they  had  vacated) ,  and  where  was  housed  Number 
Eight  General  Hospital.  After  our  labels  had 
been  examined  and  checked  with  our  wounds, 
and  it  was  quite  evident  that  we  were  "les  hommes 
blesses"  and  not  baggage,  we  were  carried  up- 
stairs and  allotted  to  our  wards  according  to  the 
part  of  the  body  in  which  we  were  wounded. 
They  had  some  difficulty  in  my  case,  and  as  I 


»» 


278  "OVER  THERE 

feared  that  they  might  be  carrying  me  from  ward 
to  ward  all  day  and  night  I  asked  them  to  look  on 
the  other  side  of  my  tag  to  see  if  it  was  not  marked 
in  red:  "Fragile,  With  Care."  There  was  in  the 
ward  where  I  eventually  anchored  a  V.  A.  D. 
(Voluntary  Aid  Detachment)  nurse  who  will 
ever  live  in  my  memory  as  the  gentlest  and  most 
attentive  of  all  that  I  have  known.  You  could 
not  raise  your  hand  or  turn  in  your  sleep  without 
her  gliding  noiselessly  to  your  bedside  to  see  if 
you  wanted  anything.  A  hundred  times  would 
she  straighten  the  pillows,  if  you  fancied  you 
would  get  extra  comfort  another  way,  and  she  ever 
had  ready  a  hot  glass  of  milk  to  make  you  sleep 
the  better.  She  was  a  Canadian,  and  if  there  are 
many  more  like  her  among  the  Canadian  women, 
then  the  men  of  Canada  are  thrice  blessed.  Thus 
passed  my  fourth  night  in  French  hospitals. 

In  the  morning  I  saw  through  an  open  door  in 
another  ward  a  friend  of  mine  whom  I  had  parted 
with  on  landing  in  Egypt.  I  called  an  orderly 
to  carry  me  through  to  an  empty  bed  alongside 
him  so  that  we  might  renew  our  friendship.  He 
was  badly  wounded  in  the  arm  and  face,  but  it 
was  pleasant  to  meet  again  after  many  months. 
That  was  many  months  ago  and  the  other  daj?"  I 
met  him  again  in  New  York.  We  have  only  been 
a  short  time  together  on  each  occasion,  yet  have 
continued  our  acquaintance  on  four  continents, 
many  months  intervening  between  each  meeting. 


IN  FRANCE  279 

There  was  a  great  hullabaloo  in  my  ward  when  the 
matron  came  in  and  found  my  bed  empty.  When 
she  discovered  where  I  was,  she  said:  "Who 
gave  you  permission  to  come  in  here?"  I  re- 
plied: "No  one  said  I  was  not  to!"  And  any- 
way the  pleasure  was  worth  the  commission  of 
the  crime  !  That  morning  I  was  again  picked  up 
as  a  bundle  and  carried  I  knew  not  whither,  leav- 
ing my  friend  behind. 

I  was  carried  on  board  a  British  hospital-ship 
and  lowered  about  three  decks  down.  As  plac- 
ards glared  in  one's  eyes  on  every  side  about  what 
to  do  in  case  of  submarine  attack,  I  did  not  like 
very  much  the  idea  of  going  down  so  far,  for  I 
always  like  to  be  able  to  depend  upon  myself  in 
an  emergency,  and  I  was  now  as  helpless  as  a  log. 
They  put  me  in  a  swinging  cot,  which  was  a  great 
idea  to  prevent  seasickness.  We  went  slowly  out 
the  harbor  to  sea  with  our  prow  pointing  toward 
"Blighty,"  the  El  Dorado  of  the  wounded  Tommy. 
'Twas  little  I  saw  of  river,  harbor,  or  sea  from  my 
berth  in  the  nethermost  depths  of  that  vessel's 
hold.  T  was  told  we  went  across  with  all  lights 
out.  The  days  had  passed  when,  in  our  folly,  we 
painted  our  hospital-ships  white  with  a  green  band 
and  marked  them  with  a  red  cross,  or  at  night 
circled  them  with  a  row  of  green  lights  illuminat- 
ing a  huge  red  cross  near  the  funnel,  for  we  had 
found  that  we  were  only  making  them  conspicuous 


28o  "OVER  THERE" 

as  targets  for  the  "  human  shark  of  the  sea." 
There  have  been  more  hospital-ships  sunk  than 
troop-ships,  for  the  troop-ship  is  armed  and  con- 
voyed, but  the  hospital-ship  is  an  easy  victim. 
The  English  port  we  entered  was  shrouded  in  fog, 
and  wharf  buildings  never  at  any  time  look  invit- 
ing, but  we  could  nevertheless  understand  the  ex- 
citement of  our  English  companions,  for  it  was 
Home  to  them,  and  to  us  "dear  old  England,"  the 
brave  heart  of  the  freest  empire  this  earth  has 
seen,  and  after  all  where  is  the  Britisher  who  does 
not  thrill  with  pride  at  landing  on  the  soil  of  those 
little  islands  which  have  produced  a  race  so  great, 
and  foot  for  foot  of  soil  there  is  no  land  on  the 
earth  that  has  produced  so  much  wealth.  We 
could  smile  with  appreciation  and  not  much  sur- 
prise at  the  Tommy  who  remarked:  "Say,  Bill, 
don't  the  gas-works  smell  lovely  !" 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 
IN  LONDON 

By  hospital-train,  the  most  comfortable  ever 
devised,  did  we  run  into  Waterloo  Station — doors 
were  opened,  and  men  in  gorgeous  uniforms — 
much  gold  braid  and  silver  buttons — came  aboard. 
We  thought  that  they  were  admirals  and  field- 
marshals  at  the  very  least,  but  it  turned  out  they 
were  only  members  of  the  Volunteer  Ambulance 
Corps,  men  unfit  for  military  service,  who  had 
provided  their  own  cars  and  received  not  a  penny 
of  pay.  With  the  tenderness  of  women  they  put 
us  on  stretchers  and  carried  us  out  to  their  luxuri- 
ous ambulances.  With  each  four  men  went  a 
lady  to  attend  to  all  their  wants.  Like  a  mother 
she  hovered  over  us  and  you  could  see  her  heart 
was  bursting  with  love  for  us  far-out  sons  of 
empire.  Through  cheering  crowds  we  drove  and 
our  Australian  hearts  leaped  as  we  heard  many 
cooees,  which  made  us  feel  that  we  were  not  far 
from  Home,  for  twelve  thousand  miles  were 
bridged  in  thought  by  these  homelike  sounds 
and  the  knowledge  that  we  were  in  the  land  from 
which  our  parents  came  and  where  we  had  many 
kinsfolk.     I  was  assigned  to  the  Third  London 

General  Hospital  and  out  to  Wandsworth  Common 

281 


282  "OVER  THERE" 

was  I  taken,  where  alongside  Queen  Victoria's 
school  for  officers'  orphans  had  been  built  rows  of 
comfortable  huts  linked  up  with  seven  miles  of 
corridors,  while  the  old  orphanage  itself  contained 
the  administrative  headquarters.  I  was  allotted 
to  G  ward,  but  did  not  know  for  days  what  a  dis- 
tinction that  was,  for  the  sister  in  charge  was  none 
other  than  the  late  Queen  of  Portugal,  and  among 
the  V.  A.  D.'s  were  several  ladies  and  honorables. 
They  were  camouflaged,  however,  under  the  titles 
of  "sister"  and  "nurse,"  and  we  had  become  too 
intimate  to  need  ceremony  before  we  discovered 
who  they  were  in  social  life.  In  dressing  our 
wounds,  washing  us,  cleaning  and  scrubbing  the 
floors  they  were  as  adept  as  if  to  the  manner  bom, 
but  you  could  not  fail  to  see  that  they  sprung 
from  generations  of  refinement.  On  one  side  of 
me  was  an  Australian  who  had  been  hit  on  the 
side  of  the  head  by  a  shell,  having  therefrom  a 
stiff  neck.  On  the  other  side  was  an  Irish  padre, 
chaplain  to  an  Australian  battalion,  and,  of  course, 
the  life  of  the  ward,  and  he  had  a  greater  fund  of 
good  stories  than  any  other  man,  not  excepting 
other  priests,  I  have  known.  In  an  opposite  bed 
was  a  Welshman  with  one  leg  who  of  necessity 
answered  to  the  name  of  "Taffy,"  while  next  to 
him  was  a  Londoner  who  had  a  leg  that  he  would 
have  been  better  without,  for  it  had  borne  four- 
teen operations.  In  London  we  had  the  world's 
specialists  for  every  bodily  ill,  and  some  of  us  who 


IN  LONDON  283 

had  complications  were  in  the  hands  of  ten  doctors 
at  the  one  time.  There  were  skin  speciaHsts  and 
bone  SpeciaHsts,  nerve  speciaHsts  and  brain 
SpeciaHsts,  separate  authorities  on  the  eye,  ear, 
nose,  and  throat,  and  it  is  a  pity  that  a  man  is 
tied  up  in  one  bag,  otherwise  they  might  aU  have 
operated  at  the  selfsame  moment  in  separate 
rooms  on  the  same  man. 

There  was  one  sister  whom  we  all  loved — I 
don't  think;  but  she  was  only  in  our  ward  occa- 
sionally. Her  real  name  was  unknown  to  most 
of  us,  but  she  will  be  remembered  for  long  as 
"Gentle  Annie."  She  was  so  gentle  that  I  have 
known  only  a  few  mules  rougher,  and  never,  after 
the  first  occasion,  would  I  allow  her  to  touch  the 
dressings  on  my  wounds.  With  so  many  to  be 
done  it  was  a  painful  performance  even  imder 
kindly,  sympathetic  hands.  We  expressed  our 
feeHngs  toward  her  by  giving  her  left-right  every 
time  she  came  into  the  ward  and  she  would  get 
mad  at  the  second  step.  One  day  she  called  the 
matron,  so  we  left-righted  her  as  weU.  Then  the 
doctor  was  brought  in  and  we  left-righted  him, 
but  he  enjoyed  the  joke,  perhaps  reaHzing  his  help- 
lessness, for  you  can't  very  well  pimish  wounded 
men  lying  in  bed  except  by  depriving  them  of 
food,  and  we  were  most  of  us  on  diets  anyivay ! 
The  fact  that  we  were  AustraHans  was  held  to  be 
accountable  for  our  misbehavior. 

There  was  a  Httle  nurse,  mostly  on  night  duty, 


284  "OVER  THERE" 

who  was  dubbed  "Choom, "  for  she  came  from 
Yorkshire  and  had  a  rich  brogue.  But  her  heart 
was  big  enough  for  one  twice  her  size,  and  she 
would  always  tuck  us  in  and  attempt  to  supply 
all  our  wants,  however  unreasonable. 

After  an  operation  which  I  tell  about  in  another 
chapter  I  was  able  to  sit  up  and  propel  myself  in 
a  wheel-chair,  and  soon  was  having  races  with  the 
champion  chair-speeders  of  the  other  wards. 
There  was  a  long  inclined  plane  that  was  the 
cause  of  many  accidents,  for  there  was  a  sharp 
turn  at  the  bottom  and  our  chariots  would  get 
out  of  control.  I  have  more  than  once  turned  a 
double  somersault  and  it  is  a  wonder  I  did  not 
break  my  head,  and  several  candid  friends  said 
it  was  cracked  anyway.  We  had  concerts  in  the 
hall  every  night,  and  as  it  was  a  couple  of  miles 
from  our  ward,  we  cripples  who  brought  our  own 
chairs  with  us  would  wait  in  the  corridor  for  one 
of  the  blind  to  propel  us  along  while  we  would  do 
the  guiding  ourselves,  giving  directions  to  our 
steeds  in  nautical  terms,  such  as:  "Starboard  a 
little!"  "Steady,  steady,  you  idiot!"  "Hard 
aport !"  "Quick  !"  "Now,  you  darned  fool,  you 
jolly  nearly  smashed  that  window!"  When  we 
got  to  the  door  of  the  hall,  we  would  be  piloted 
into  the  area  reserved  for  carriages,  and  so  tightly 
were  we  jammed  that  it  took  about  twenty  min- 
utes to  empty  the  hall,  or  twice  as  long  if  we  tried 
to  get  out  by  ourselves.     However,  the  concerts 


IN  LONDON  285 

were  worth  while,  and  when  Clara  Butt  or  some 
other  world-famed  artist  came  along,  we  did  not 
mind  being  late  for  dinner,  the  dishes  of  which 
were  never  a  surprise  if  you  remembered  the  day 
of  the  week. 

In  our  ward  there  were  mostly  leg  injuries,  and 
in  the  one  next  door  arm  cases,  and  hot  and  fast 
flew  the  arguments  as  to  which  it  were  worse  to 
lose.  We  demonstrated  our  superiority  one  night 
by  raiding  them  for  their  milk,  all  the  attackers 
being  on  crutches,  and  they  were  unable  to  re- 
cover it;  so  we  decided  to  our  own  satisfaction 
that  we  were  the  most  useful  members  of  society, 
though  had  we  not  dnmk  it  so  fast  they  might 
have  got  it. 

We  had  some  very  high  talent  in  the  hospital 
and  our  monthly  gazette  was  a  very  creditable 
production.  We  had  as  one  of  the  orderlies  a 
Punch  artist  and  he  was  always  caricaturing  some 
of  us.  The  patients  contributed  drawings,  poems, 
and  articles,  and  I  imagine  that  in  years  to  come 
these  little  papers  will  be  of  some  value,  contain- 
ing the  works  of  renowned  artists  and  authors 
from  many  parts  of  the  world. 

A  good  number  from  our  ward  were  able  to  take 
taxi-rides  into  the  city  and  would  return  at  late 
hours,  sometimes  the  merrier  for  the  excursion. 
I  have  in  my  memory  as  I  write,  recollections  of 
waking  suddenly  out  of  slumber  to  behold  Taffy 
and  a  mad  Australian  waltzing  to  the  strains  of  a 


286  "OVER  THERE" 

gramophone,  each  with  only  one  leg,  and  then  old 
Piddington  would  persist  in  rousing  the  ward  that 
we  might  sing  as  a  roundelay: 


"And  when  I  die, 
Don't  bury  me  at  all — 
Just  pickle  my  bones 
In  alcohol. 

Put  a  bottle  of  RUM —    (much  emphasis  here) 
At  my  head  and  feet, 
And  then  I  know 
My  bones  will  keep ! " 


My  brothers  are  in  different  regiments.  We  en- 
listed from  different  states — one  is  in  an  English 
regiment — yet  we  all  met  on  Good  Friday  in  this 
hospital  ward.  They  had  seen  in  the  paper  my 
name  among  the  casualties  and,  inquiring,  had 
found  out  where  I  was  and  there  we  met,  not  hav- 
ing seen  each  other  for  many  years. 

One  day,  like  a  bolt  from  the  blue,  came  the  in- 
timation that  I  was  to  be  sent  back  to  Australia 
in  two  days  as  being  unfit  for  further  service.  I 
argued  the  point,  went  before  the  Medical  Board, 
and  gave  each  one  separately  a  testimonial  that 
would  be  no  advertisement,  but  it  was  of  no  avail, 
and  I  realized  that  like  a  worn-out  horse  I  was  to 
be  sent  out  of  the  fun.  But  to  add  injury  to  in- 
sult, I  had  had  no  opportunity  to  see  London. 
What !  Go  home  to  Australia  and  tell  them  I  had 
been  in  London  and  not  seen  St.  Patil's,  or  the 


IN  LONDON  287 

Abbey,  or  anything  ?  So  when  I  realized  appeal 
5vas  useless  I  got  dressed  and  called  a  taxicab  and 
went  to  see  the  sights  of  London.  Never  was  a 
tourist  trip  conducted  more  systematically.  On 
crutches  I  hobbled  round  St.  Paiil's  and  through 
the  Abbey.  I  saw  the  Tower,  the  Albert  Me- 
morial, and  all  the  sights  that  I  could  remember 
or  the  taxi-driver  think  of  sufficient  importance  to 
need  a  visit.  I  even  went  down  Petticoat  Lane. 
But  most  of  all  I  did  the  theatres,  four  in  one  day, 
returning  to  the  hospital  at  1.30  A.  M.  Next  day 
I  repeated  and  enlarged  the  dose,  returning  a 
little  later,  but  the  following  morning  I  was  sum- 
moned before  the  O.  C.  He  said:  "It  is  reported 
to  me  that  you  have  been  returning  after  hours. 
Why?"  I  said:  "So  would  you,  sir,  if  you  were 
returning  to  Australia  in  two  days  and  had  not 
viewed  London!"  He  said:  "Well,  it  won't 
occur  again,  I  hope."  To  which  I  replied:  "Only 
to-night,  sir!"  But  the  boat  was  delayed,  and 
I  had  two  more  days  of  strenuous  existence  in 
the  metropolis  of  the  world. 

Once  again  I  entered  a  hospital-train,  but  this 
time  I  would  have  no  mussing  round  me  as  if  I 
were  a  helpless  child,  but  went  upright,  as  a  man 
should,  though  on  crutches. 

When  we  journeyed  to  the  port  there  was  one 
of  our  good  old  Australian  coasters  waiting  to 
bear  us  back  again — Home.  The  old  A.  U.  S.  N. 
steamer  that  I  had  so  often  travelled  on  from 


288  "OVER  THERE" 

Brisbane  to  Sydney  was  now  under  command  of 
the  Australian  navy  and  had  the  proud  designa- 
tion of  "His  Majesty's  Australian  Hospital-Ship." 


CHAPTER  XXIX 
THE  HOSPITAL-SHIP 

Some  people  think  that  they  have  made  a  sea 
journey  when  they  cross  the  EngHsh  Channel, 
and  Dover  to  Calais  holds  for  many  the  memory 
of  an  age  of  misery.  I  don't  suppose  the  pro- 
visions on  these  Channel  steamers  have  very  great 
inroads  made  upon  them  by  the  passengers.  The 
soldiers  have  a  song  that  well  expresses  experiences 
on  this  narrow  stretch  of  water. 

"  Sea,  sea,  why  are  you  angry  with  me  ? 
Ever  since  I  left  Dover, 
I  thought  the  ship  would  go  over "  (etc.) 

but  on  the  longer  journey  across  the  Atlantic 
from  England  to  America  there  is  more  time  to 
get  one's  sea-legs,  and  on  the  last  day  or  two 
passengers  begin  to  enjoy  the  sea  journey.  But 
this  is  quite  enough  of  the  sea  for  any  one  but 
an  amphibian.  The  three  weeks  journey  from 
America  to  AustraHa  gets  decidedly  monotonous, 
and  long  before  sighting  Sydney  Heads  and  en- 
tering the  world's  "pearl  of  ports"  every  one  has 
had  his  fill  of  the  sea.  But  lengthen  that  jour- 
ney by  three  and  you  have  had  enough  sea  travel 

for  a  lifetime. 

289 


290  "OVER  THERE" 

Well,  we  left  England  and  for  an  eternity  sailed 
south,  seeing  land  only  on  one  day  and  smelling 
it  for  a  week.  Then  we  clung  to  the  end  of 
Africa  for  seven  days  and  then  sailed  east  for  a 
decade  till  AustraUa  got  in  our  way,  and  as  it 
could  not  be  passed  without  a  long  detour,  we 
were  deposited  on  its  soil.  In  nine  weeks  we  only 
called  at  two  ports,  Freetown  on  the  west  coast  of 
Africa,  and  Durban  on  the  east  coast.  Freetown 
has  the  usual  strong  combination  smell  of  nigger, 
cinnamon,  and  decaying  vegetation  in  an  at- 
mosphere of  heavy  steam,  that  characterizes  all 
tropical  towns  inhabited  by  our  "black  brother." 
We  were  told  that  this  place  had  but  a  few  years 
ago  the  pleasant  subtitle  of  "The  White  Man's 
Grave."  If  you  served  one  year  here  in  the 
government  service  you  were  entitled  to  retire 
for  life  on  a  pension,  but  the  likelihood  was  that 
long  before  your  term  was  up  you  would  retire 
to  a  six-foot-by-two  allotment  near  the  beach, 
in  the  company  of  countless  predecessors.  But 
science  had  been  at  work  here,  as  at  Panama,  and 
wire  gauze  and  the  kerosene  spray  had  captured 
the  first  trenches  of  yellow  fever  and  malaria,  and 
against  these  weapons  of  the  medico  all  counter- 
attacks have  been  imavailing.  Some  strong  hand 
was  ruling  in  this  town,  for  the  streets  were  spot- 
less and  the  dogs  lean.  And,  oh,  how  the  nigger 
does  hate  cleanliness !  Evidently  this  town  was 
free  in  a  real  sense  because  well  disciplined.    We 


THE  HOSPITAL-SHIP  291 

were  told  that  all  the  white  people  lived  up  on 
the  hill  that  backed  the  town  and  many  kind 
invitations  of  hospitality  were  sent  to  us ;  so  those 
whose  wills  were  stronger  than  the  enervating 
hand  of  the  weather-master  boarded  the  toy 
train  and  were  carried  up  and  up  toward  the  sum- 
mit of  the  hills  above  the  steam  heat,  where  the 
air  seemed  to  be  fanned  from  the  very  cooling- 
house  of  God.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  being  enter- 
tained by  a  French  priest  who  had  been  on  the 
western  front  in  the  early  days  of  the  war,  and  he 
added  to  our  knowledge  more  first-hand  stories  of 
the  bestial  Huns'  ravaging  of  convents  and  rap- 
ing of  nuns.  The  bishop  of  this  protectorate  could 
not  do  enough  for  us,  and  although  we  were  not 
of  his  faith,  he  looked  on  us  as  children  who  were 
very  dear  to  the  heart  of  God  because  of  our  sacri- 
fices of  blood  and  flesh  for  the  right. 

We  loaded  ourselves  down  with  curios,  buying 
tiger-rugs,  mats,  bead-necklaces,  tom-toms,  and 
assegais.  We  stnmg  these  chiefly  roimd  our 
necks,  as  we  had  to  have  hands  free  to  manipulate 
our  crutches,  and  some  of  us  looked  more  like  the 
"ol'  clo'  man"  than  smart  army  officers.  Of 
course  "Bertie  Gloom"  had  to  suggest  that  we 
would  have  to  pay  more  duty  on  the  "old  junk" 
when  we  got  it  to  Australia  even  than  the  price 
that  the  dealers  had  already  robbed  us  of. 

At  Diu-ban  the  first  thing  we  saw  was  a  girl  in 
white    semaphoring    like    mad   from    the  rocks. 


»» 


292  "OVER  THERE 

As  we  spelled  out  that  she  was  trying  to  tell  us 
that  she  was  an  Australian,  we  gave  her  three 
times  three.  Our  difficulty  in  reading  her  mes- 
sage was  not  through  her  bad  signalling  but 
because  of  her  speed.  Doubt  if  we  had  a  signaller 
on  board  so  quick !  This  was  not  the  last  of  our 
indebtedness  to  her,  for  when  we  got  into  the 
wharf  she  had  a  regiment  of  Kaffirs  with  sugar- 
bags  full  of  apples  and  oranges,  and  while  we  were 
still  fifty  yards  from  the  wharf  she  began  throwing 
them  through  the  port-holes  and  into  the  hands 
of  the  men  on  deck.  Not  a  half  of  one  per  cent 
fell  short.  She  would  have  made  a  dandy 
bomber,  and  was  a  dandy  all  round. 

In  fact,  the  people  of  Durban  were  the  most 
hospitable  and  patriotic  of  any  people  we  had 
met.  A  delegation  of  citizens  and  ladies  came 
down  to  the  boat  to  inform  us  that  we  were  the 
guests  of  the  city  and  that  everything  was  free 
to  us.  And  later  on  we  found  them  not  to  have 
exaggerated  in  the  slightest.  No  one  would  ac- 
cept money  from  us,  though  1  don't  think  any  of 
us  tried  to  get  diamond  rings  on  these  terms,  but 
conductors  on  tram-cars  and  trains  and  motor- 
drivers  and  ticket-collectors  at  theatres  one  and 
all  told  us  that  our  money  was  no  good  and  gave 
to  us  their  best  seats. 

This  did  not  apply  to  the  rickshaws,  for  they 
were  nm  by  Zulus  and  charged  by  the  hour.  You 
would  climb  in,  the  shafts  would  go  up  in  the  air, 


THE  HOSPITAL-SHIP  293 

until  you  thought  you  were  going  to  be  tipped  out 
at  the  back,  and  a  herculean  Zulu,  decorated 
with  horns  and  red  and  white  stripes  so  that  he 
might  look  like  the  devil,  whom  he,  in  reality, 
outdevilled,  would  rest  himself  on  the  body  of 
the  rick  and  trot  along  at  a  rate  of  six  or  seven 
miles  an  hour,  quite  able  to  keep  up  the  pace  all 
day.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  never  wanted  to 
know  where  you  were  going,  and  even  if  you  told 
them  to  take  you  to  the  post-office  they  would  go 
round  and  round  the  block,  never  stopping  to  let 
you  out  unless  you  gave  them  a  good  poke  in  the 
ribs  with  your  stick.  Somewhere  in  their  brains 
was  an  infernal  taximeter  adding  up  the  dimes, 
and  like  their  first  cousins  with  the  leather  caps, 
they  were  determined  to  squeeze  from  you  your 
last  cent. 

Apart  from  the  ordinary  entertainments  we 
foimd  that  f^tes  and  feasts  had  been  arranged  for 
our  delectation  at  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  soldiers' 
clubs,  so  that  every  minute  of  our  stay  was 
crowded  enjoyment.  Even  those  of  us  who  pre- 
ferred quieter  pleastues  were  not  without  com- 
panions, and  I  know  of  no  more  delightful  journey 
in  the  whole  world  than  a  trip  by  tram-car  to  the 
Zoo  or  out  along  the  Berea.  Durban  has  cer- 
tainly one  of  the  most  picturesque  situations  of 
any  city  in  the  world,  and  the  art  of  man  has  been 
used  with  taste  to  reinforce  nature:  there  are 
no  homes  in  more  delightful  surroundings  with 


294  "OVER  THERE" 

lovelier  shrubber};-  and  gardens  than  here.  The 
people  of  Durban  have  not  only  an  eye  for  beauty 
but  they  are  very  up  to  date  and  have  a  coaling 
apparatus  that  holds  the  world's  record  for  speed 
in  the  coaling  of  ships. 

Besides  these  two  ports  we  made  two  other 
stops  on  the  journey,  but  these  were  where  there 
was  no  land.  The  first  one  was  wholly  involun- 
tary, and  not  much  to  our  liking,  for  through  a 
breakdown  in  our  engines  we  drifted  helplessly  for 
two  days  in  the  very  centre  of  the  danger  zone  of 
submarines. 

Our  next  stop  had  also  some  connection  with 
these  sharks,  for  we  sighted  floating  in  mid-ocean 
two  life-boats  and  we  went  close  to  them  but  there 
was  no  one  on  board — only  oars  and  water-casks. 
That's  all — just  another  mystery  of  the  sea — ^no 
name,  no  clew.  Another  day  we  sighted  a  steamer 
hull  down,  evidently  water-logged,  and  we  were 
going  to  her  assistance  when  a  cruiser  came  along 
and  told  us  to  go  about  our  business  and  get  out 
of  harm's  way  as  quickly  as  we  could.  This 
cruiser  was  just  a  little  whiff  of  "scented  gum" 
and  Australian  air  to  us,  for  she  was  one  of  the 
best  known  of  the  Australian  squadron. 

There  is  a  lonely  island  in  the  mid-Indian  Ocean 
which  is  the  only  land  for  thousands  of  miles,  and 
it  is  an  unwritten  law  of  the  sea  that  every  ship 
going  that  way  should  steam  round  it  and  watch 
carefully  for  signal-fires  or  signs  of  human  occu- 


THE  HOSPITAL-SHIP  295 

pation,  for  it  is  the  place  that  shipwrecked 
sailors  make  for,  and  therefore  there  have  been 
placed  on  the  island  several  casks  of  fresh  water 
and  a  supply  of  flour,  and  goats  have  been  turned 
loose  until  they  now  overrun  it.  If  a  ship  should 
find  any  one  marooned  thereon  they  are  bound  to 
replace  all  the  water  and  flour  that  has  been  used. 
At  one  time  there  was  a  large  fresh- water  lake  in 
the  extinct  crater  of  a  volcano,  but  the  sea  has 
now  broken  through  and  made  it  salt.  We 
steamed  very  close  in,  blew  the  siren,  and  had 
there  been  a  pygmy  there  he  would  not  have  been 
overlooked  as  hundreds  of  trained  eyes  searched 
the  rocks  with  glasses.  We  also  got  some  fine 
photographs  of  this  romantic  isle  in  its  waste  of 
waters. 

The  officers'  ward  was  on  the  upper  deck  and  our 
nurse  had  a  twin  sister  in  another  ward  and  there 
was  not  a  particle  of  difference  between  them.  If 
I  was  lying  on  the  deck  and  should  call  out  to  our 
nurse  as  she  passed  to  get  me  something,  she 
would  generally  say,  "I'll  ask  my  sister,"  for, 
of  course,  it  was  the  wrong  one.  There  was  end- 
less confusion,  for  when  we  had  a  little  tiff  with 
our  nurse,  her  sister  would  be  sent  to  Coventry 
as  well,  and  in  a  deck  golf  tournament  there  was 
great  dispute  over  who  won  the  ladies'  prize, 
for  both  sisters  claimed  it.  This  matter  could 
not  be  settled,  as  the  umpire  was  not  sure  if  he 
had  credited  the  scores  to  the  right  one.     The 


»♦ 


296  "OVER  THERE 

prize  was  a  set  of  brushes  and  we  told  them  it 
would  have  to  do  for  both,  which  was  all  right,  as 
we  were  sure  they  wore  each  other's  clothes  any- 
way. They  told  us  they  had  made  a  vow  when 
they  married  not  to  live  in  the  same  town  for  the 
husbands'  sake ! 

The  routine  of  the  days  was  deadly  monotonous 
with  a  break  of  a  concert  on  Saturday  and  church 
on  Sunday.  Unfortimately,  we  had  on  board  only 
two  who  could  sing  and  one  who  thought  he  could 
recite.  And  even  of  those  whose  performance 
exceeded  their  own  opinion  we  got  tired  before 
the  journey  ended.  There  were  others  who  at- 
tempted to  entertain  us  who  afflicted  us  so  much 
that  after  three  performances  we  gave  them  the 
choice  of  suicide  or  having  their  tonsils  cut,  so 
the  concerts  petered  out  and  the  audience  at  the 
last  one  did  not  pay  for  the  moving  of  the  piano. 

The  shipping  company  who  had  transferred  the 
ship  to  the  Admiralty  for  the  duration  of  the  war 
still  kept  on  the  catering,  and  retained  the  same 
bill  of  fare  as  on  their  passenger  trade.  There 
was  a  good  deal  of  variety  and  we  always  were 
able  to  get  enjoyment  with  wondering  what  we 
would  have  for  the  next  meal.  They  even  helped 
us  out  a  bit  by  caUing  the  same  dish  by  different 
names  on  different  days  and  the  same  curry  tasted 
differently  imder  the  names  of  "Madras,"  "Ben- 
gal," "Simla,"  "Ceylon,"  "Indian,"  and  "Bud- 
geree,"  and  the  cooking  would  even  have  satis- 


THE  HOSPITAL-SHIP  297 

fied  Americans.  The  nurses  were  seated  at  one 
long  table  in  the  saloon  and  formed  an  island 
completely  surrounded  by  officers.  The  twins 
were  on  opposite  sides  of  the  table,  and  of  course 
we  always  found  after  dinner  that  we  had  been 
signalling  to  the  wrong  one.  We  observed  a  good 
deal  of  ceremony  and  always  stood  to  attention 
imtil  the  nurses  were  seated,  but  the  nurse  who 
came  in  late  and  made  us  interrupt  an  interesting 
conversation  with  a  tender  chicken  got  plenty  of 
black  looks.  When  the  matron  rose  we  stood 
to  attention  again  while  they  filed  out  and  then 
"carried  on"  with  the  meal. 

One  morning  there  was  great  excitement.  Up 
from  the  lower  decks  the  electric  current  of  ex- 
pectancy ran  until  every  one's  steps  quickened 
and  those  of  us  who  were  on  wooden  legs  beat  a 
constant  tattoo  on  the  decks.  What  means  this 
eager,  anxious  thrill  ?  To-morrow  we  would 
sight  Australia!  Only  43,200  seconds — 720  min- 
utes— or  12  hours,  and  once  again  we  would  view 
the  fairest  continent  planted  by  God  in  the  seas. 
Mind  you,  the  first  sight  of  AustraHa  (going  that 
way)  is  not  very  attractive.  Rottenest  Island, 
outside  Fremantle,  is  sandy  and  barren  and 
really  not  much  to  boast  about,  yet  had  you 
spread  before  us  a  scene  from  the  Garden  of  Eden 
it  had  not  charmed  us  half  so  much.  For  this 
was  part  of  AustraHa,  the  land  that  we  all  called 
home.     Back  of  that,  for  three  thousand  miles, 


298  "OVER  THERE" 

stretched  the  country  that  held  our  ain  folk  and 
love  and  joy  and  home  and  what  a  man  fights 
for  and  worships. 

Every  man  had  to  be  up  on  deck  to  see  this 
sight.  There  were  men  there  paralyzed,  who  had 
never  moved  during  the  whole  long  journey,  but 
the  saddest  sight  was  to  see  the  blind  turning  their 
sightless  eyes  in  its  direction  and  smiling  with 
ecstasy,  and  maybe  it  looked  more  fair  to  these 
than  to  us  who  could  see.  How  those  boys 
cheered  and  cheered  again !  What  a  new  spirit 
"pervaded  the  ship  !  All  day  laughter  and  singing 
rang  out,  for  there  are  no  more  patriotic  troops  in 
the  world  than  the  Australian  soldiers,  and, 
East,  West,  Hame's  best.  Like  the  old  King  of 
Ithaca  we  had  wandered  for  years  in  many  lands, 
but  at  last  had  returned  home,  and  soon  would 
have  Penelope  in  our  arms. 

But  only  the  Westralians  were  really  home, 
and  some  of  these  had  two  or  three  hundred  miles 
to  go ;  for  the  rest  of  us  there  was  still  a  fortnight 
more  in  the  old  ship  as  we  sailed  across  the  base 
of  Australia  to  the  eastern  States. 


CHAPTER  XXX  ^ 
IN  AUSTRALIA 

When  the  ship  drew  in  at  the  Melbourne  wharf 
I  made  up  my  mind  to  escape  the  fuss  and  hero- 
worship,  as  I  was  a  Queenslander  and  knew  that 
none  of  my  folks  were  among  the  crowd  waiting 
at  the  gates.  I  went  to  the  military  landing- 
officer  and  asked  him  if  I  could  not  go  out  another 
way  and  dodge  the  procession.  He  said  the 
orders  were  that  every  officer  and  man  was  to  be 
driven  in  special  cars  to  the  hospital.  I  then 
went  down  onto  the  wharf  and  approached  one  of 
the  ladies  who  looked  as  if  she  would  play  the 
game  and  I  said  to  her:  "If  I  ride  in  your  car,  will 
you  promise  to  do  me  a  favor?"  She  said:  "I 
would  do  anything  for  you."  I  then  said:  "Well, 
let  me  out  as  soon  as  we  get  outside  the  gate." 
She  demurred  a  good  deal  but  I  reminded  her  that 
no  Australian  girl  I  knew  ever  broke  a  promise. 
When  we  got  outside  I  boarded  a  tram-car,  which 
had  not  gone  far  before  it  had  to  stop  to  let  the 
procession  pass.  Of  course,  every  one  would  see 
that  I  was  a  returned  soldier,  but  there  was  noth- 
ing to  show  that  I  was  just  returned.  I  stood  up 
in  the  tram-car  with  the  rest  of  the  passengers  and 

299 


300  "OVER  THERE" 

cheered  and  threw  cigarettes  and  remarked  loudly 
to  all  and  sundry :  ' '  Some  more  boys  come  back, 
eh?"  But  my  well-laid  plans  were  entirely 
spoiled  as  my  friends  in  the  automobile  called  out, 
"Here,  Knyvett,  you  dog,  come  out  of  that! 
Here's  your  place!"  and  I  disgracefully  subsided 
with  many  blushes,  and  had  to  endure  all  the  way 
up  to  Melbourne  the  whispers  and  concentrated 
gaze  of  the  whole  tramful.  I  also  "fell  in"  in  an- 
other way,  for  when  I  rang  up  my  uncle  I  found 
that  he  and  his  daughter  were  looking  for  me 
down  at  the  wharf  gates. 

Two  years  ago  the  site  of  Caulfield  Hospital 
was  a  wilderness  of  weeds  and  sand.  Now  it  is 
an  area  of  trim  lawns  and  blazing  gardens,  bowling- 
greens,  croquet-lawns,  and  tennis-courts,  with 
comfortable  huts,  the  gift  of  the  people  of  Mel- 
bourne to  their  wounded  soldiers,  costing  several 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  As  I  had  served  with 
Victorian  troops  I  was  assigned  to  this  hospital, 
although  my  home  was  over  a  thousand  miles 
away  in  the  northern  state  of  Queensland.  All 
who  were  fit  to  travel  were  given  fourteen  days 
"disembarkation  leave"  to  visit  their  homes, 
but  twelve  of  these  days  I  had  to  spend  in  travel 
and  only  had  two  days  at  home  after  such  long 
absence. 

My  woimds  had  healed  but  I  was  still  paralyzed 
in  my  left  leg,  and  the  only  attention  I  required 
was  daily  massage  for  an  hour,  and  then  another 


IN  AUSTRALIA  301 

hour  in  the  torture-chamber  with  an  electric 
current  grilling  me.  After  this  was  over,  I  would 
go  into  the  city,  do  the  block,  have  afternoon  tea, 
give  an  address  at  the  Town  Hall  recruiting-depot, 
go  to  a  theatre,  and  then  as  there  seemed  nothing 
else  to  be  done,  would  return  to  the  hospital. 
Such  was  my  programme  for  ninety  days.  Some- 
times I  varied  it  by  visiting  the  Zoo  to  commiser- 
ate with  the  wild  animals  on  being  caged. 

There  were  many  red-letter  days  when  I  was 
entertained  by  friends;  but  I  am  afraid  I  only 
squeaked  when  they  expected  roars — to  be  lion- 
ized was  too  unusual  not  to  have  stage  fright  a 
little. 

The  women  in  Australia  are  well  organized  and 
see  to  it  that  if  a  boy  has  a  dull  time  it's  his 
own  fault.  All  the  automobiles  of  the  city  were 
registered  with  the  Volunteer  Motor  Corps, 
and  each  day  certain  of  them  were  allotted  to 
take  wounded  soldiers  for  picnics.  We  would 
generally  be  driven  to  some  pretty  suburb  and 
there  would  be  spread  before  us  a  feast  of  good 
things.  At  the  end  of  the  meal  some  of  us  felt 
like  the  little  boy  who  said  to  his  mother  after  the 
party:  "I'm  so  tired,  mummie,  carry  me  up-stairs 
to  bed,  but  don't  bend  me !" 

There  were  concerts  every  night  for  the  stay-at- 
home,  but  I  only  managed  to  get  to  one,  given 
by  the  pupils  of  Madam  Melba,  which  was  a 
feast  of  harmony.     After  the  programme  refresh- 


302  "OVER  THERE" 

ments  were  brought  roiind  by  V.  A.  D.'s,  whom 
the  boys  called,  "Very  Artful  Dodgers,"  but  it 
was  not  the  "Thank  you  for  the  cakes  and  tea !" 
that  they  dodged  !  We  had  a  cricket-match,  one- 
armers  versus  one-leggers,  and  we  one-leggers  were 
allowed  to  catch  the  ball  in  our  hats ;  but  the  one- 
leggers  lost  as  we  were  nearly  all  nm  out.  Some 
of  us  being  half-way  down  the  pitch  as  the  ball 
was  thrown  in,  would  throw  one  crutch  at  the 
wickets,  knocking  off  the  bails,  when  the  umpire, 
who  had  no  legs  at  all,  would  give  his  decision 
that  we  were  "stumped." 

A  huge  Red  Cross  carnival  was  held  near  the 
hospital  which  netted  about  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars. We  were  guests  of  honor,  and  on  this  occa- 
sion in  the  enormous  crowds  found  "Long  John" 
(one  of  the  doctors,  who  was  seven  feet  tall)  very 
useful.  He  wondered  why  he  was  being  followed 
about  by  several  girls  whom  he  did  not  know. 
We  explained  to  him  afterward  that  a  good  nimi- 
ber  of  us  who  had  "meets"  had  thought  out  the 
ingenious  scheme  of  telling  the  girl  to  meet  us  at 
"Long  John,"  who  would  be  the  tallest  object  on 
the  grounds.  We  told  him  that  he  didn't  play 
the  game  properly  by  moving  about  so  much,  as 
our  friends  complained  that  they  were  just  worn 
out  following  him  round. 

The  carnival  was  one  enormous  fair — there 
were  row  on  row  of  stalls,  decorated  in  the 
colors  of  all  the  Allied  flags,  with  the  girls  serving 


IN  AUSTRALIA  303 

at  them  dressed  in  peasant  costumes.  The  goods 
on  the  needlework-stalls  represented  the  work  of 
weeks — there  were  flower-stalls,  sweet-stalls,  prod- 
uce-stalls, book-stalls,  and  in  and  out  of  the 
crowds  girls  went  selling  raffle-tickets  for  every- 
thing under  the  sun — from  tray-cloths  to  auto- 
mobiles and  trips  to  Sydney.  Ballyhoo-men 
stood  at  tent-doors,  calling  the  crowd  to  come  and 
see  the  performing  kangaroo,  the  wild  man  from 
Borneo,  or,  "Every  time  you  hit  him  you  get  a 
good  cigar!"  "Him"  was  a  grinning  blackface 
stuck  obligingly  through  a  hole  in  a  sheet.  There 
were  groups  of  tables  and  chairs  under  bright- 
colored  umbrellas,  every  here  and  there,  where 
good  things  to  eat  were  served  all  day.  The  fun 
lasted  well  into  the  night,  when  there  were  con- 
certs, and  dancing,  and  even  the  one-legged  men 
tried  to  dance. 

I  don't  think  I  had  any  other  meals  at  the  hos- 
pital than  breakfast  which  I  always  had  in  bed. 
There  was  an  orderly  officer  who  was  very  un- 
popular as  he  had  been  months  round  the  hospital 
and  missed  many  chances  of  going  to  the  front. 
One  day  the  men  played  a  trick  on  him.  When 
he  came  into  the  dining-room  to  ask  if  there  were 
any  complaints  one  of  them  picked  up  a  dish 
which  was  steaming  hot  and  said:  "Look  here, 
sir!  What  do  you  think  of  this?"  He  picked 
up  a  spoon  and  tasted  it.  "Why,  my  man, 
that's  very  good  soup  !    You're  lucky  to  get  such 


304  "OVER  THERE" 

good  food."     "But,  sir,  it's  not  soup,  it's  dish- 
water ! ' '     (Curtain.) 

At  last  the  Medical  Board  sat  on  my  case  and 
their  decision  left  me  gasping  for  breath,  for  they 
recommended  that  I  be  discharged  as  permanently 
imiit  for  further  military  service.  But  nature 
sometimes  plays  sorry  pranks  with  medical  de- 
cisions. Not  more  than  a  week  after  this,  move- 
ment suddenly  retxuned  to  my  leg  and  I  threw 
away  my  crutches  and  was  able  to  walk  almost 
as  well  as  ever.  About  ten  days  after  leaving 
hospital  I  had  sailed  back  for  France  via  America, 
but  have  not  at  the  time  of  writing  been  able  to 
get  across  the  Atlantic. 


CHAPTER  XXXr 
USING  AN  IRISHMAN'S  NERVE 

I  HAVE  been  saving  this  for  a  separate  chapter; 
for  besides  a  natural  hesitation  in  admitting  that 
I  am  not  "all  there,"  I  want  to  have  sufficient 
space  in  which  to  express  my  gratitude  to  the  doc- 
tor who  performed  the  operation  and  to  the  "un- 
known" who  had  his  leg  amputated,  so  providing 
me  with  a  portion  of  his  anatomy  that  I  was  in  sore 
need  of.  Of  course,  in  these  days  when  surgical 
miracles  are  happening  continually  there  is  noth- 
ing outstanding  about  this  operation,  and  surgeons 
have  wonderful  opportunities  in  a  military  hos- 
pital, where  there  are  so  many  spare  human  parts 
lying  about  to  patch  up  a  man  with.  I  quite  be- 
lieve that  from  three  smashed  men  they  could 
make  a  whole  one,  which,  after  all,  would  not  be 
such  a  marvel  when  one  remembers  that  they  are 
continually  grafting  bones  and  nerves,  and  I  for 
one  would  not  like  to  say  that  in  the  next  war 
they  may  not  be  able  to  aire  a  man  who  has  lost 
his  head  entirely,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact,  one  of 
the  San  Francisco  papers  informed  its  readers 
(and  as  in  this  country  the  impossible  of  yesterday 
happens  to-day,  no  doubt  they  believed  it  to  be 
true)  that  I  had  had  another  man's  leg  grafted 

SOS 


3o6  "OVER  THERE" 

onto  me.  After  such  a  statement  it  is  an  anti- 
climax to  have  to  inform  the  public  that  it  was 
only  a  portion  of  nerve  that  was  grafted. 

I  had  been  lying  in  hospital  several  weeks  be- 
fore I  got  worried  about  the  fact  that  I  could  not 
move  my  leg.  Then  when  the  great-hearted, 
plain-faced  doctor  who  was  attending  to  me  said, 
"How's  the  man  of  many  wounds  this  morning  ?" 
I  asked:  "Why  is  it  my  leg  is  dead  ?"  He  said: 
"We're  only  waiting  for  the  wounds  to  heal  tmtil 
we  test  it."  And  sure  enough  a  day  or  two  later  I 
was  put  in  the  electric  chair  for  "reactions." 
When  the  current  was  put  onto  my  right  leg  I 
howled  and  twisted,  but  with  twice  the  current  on 
my  left  leg  nothing  happened,  as  I  felt  nothing. 
Some  days  later  a  great  nerve  specialist  operated 
on  me  and  when  I  came  back  to  this  workaday 
world  from  the  land  of  fancy,  whither  the  ether 
had  borne  me,  I  was  informed  that  a  portion  of 
nerve  had  been  grafted  in  my  leg  and  that  in 
about  three  months  I  might  be  able  to  use  it. 

At  this  time  I  had  no  idea  from  whom  the  por- 
tion of  nerve  came.  I  did  not  like  to  inquire,  for 
I  was  afraid  that  if  I  met  its  previous  owner  I 
might  be  prejudiced  against  it.  Every  portion  of 
one's  body  is  so  closely  related  to  the  rest  that  I 
was  afraid  if  his  face  did  not  stdt  my  fancy  I 
might  subconsciously  come  to  resemble  him.  But 
whenever  I  met  one-legged  men  in  the  corridors 
or  concert-hall  I  would  try  to  pick  out  the  one 


USING  AN  IRISHMAN'S  NERVE     307 

I  would  most  like  to  receive  such  an  intimate  gift 
from.  Some  of  these  had  a  refined,  delicate  ap- 
pearance, and  I  immediately  feared  that  I  would 
grow  tenderfooted,  while  others  looked  like 
pugilists  and  I  immediately  imagined  my  foot  was 
becoming  calloused  and  might  become  longer 
than  the  other. 

So  purposely  I  remained  in  ignorance  of  the 
religion  and  nationality  of  my  new  nerve.  Once 
for  a  whole  day  I  sweat  blood  lest  it  might  be  a 
German,  and  then  I  plucked  up  courage  to  ask  if 
there  were  any  Germans  in  the  hospital,  and 
when  I  learned  that  there  were  not  I  slept  like  a 
child  for  many  hours.  On  Saturdays  I  felt  it 
might  be  a  Jew  or  a  Seventh-Day  Adventist,  but 
then  it  did  not  work  on  other  days  either,  so  I 
thought  it  must  be  I.  W.  W.,  "I  Won't  Work"  as 
they  are  called  in  Australia.  Then  one  day  I  was 
sure  it  was  from  one  of  the  same  religion  as  myself, 
for  that  leg  was  perspiring  alone,  and  in  the  out- 
back country  in  Australia,  where  the  temperature 
reaches  one  hundred  and  twenty  degrees  in  the 
shade,  the  Presbyterian  Church  is  sometimes 
called  "Perspiration."  At  any  rate,  I  read  in  a 
paper  that  in  one  town  the  three  churches  were 
Anglican,  Roman  Catholic,  and  Perspiration.  As 
to  nationality  it  might  be  Scotch,  as  I  had  to  be 
"verra  cautious"  in  moving  it,  or  English,  being 
so  "sensitive''  to  the  touch.  It  was  only  after 
movement  returned  that  I  was  quite  sure  it  was 


3o8  *'OVER  THERE" 

Irish !  For  ever  since  then  the  Home  Rule  con- 
troversy has  been  going  on  in  my  body,  for  when 
I  want  to  place  my  foot  in  a  certain  position,  it's 
bound  to  try  and  go  some  other  way.  You  can 
see  from  all  this  that  I  don't  know  much  about 
nerves,  and  I  even  wonder  sometimes  whether,  if 
they  put  in  my  leg  a  nerve  from  an  arm,  I  might 
not  try  to  shake  hands  with  it  like  the  armless 
man  in  the  circus,  or,  if  it  happened  to  belong 
to  the  opposite  leg,  whether  or  not  I  would  be 
pigeon-toed. 

I  sometimes  wonder  if  the  donor  of  this  piece  of 
nerve  still  "feels  it"  in  his  own  leg,  for,  months 
after  a  man  has  lost  his  leg,  he  still  feels  it  there. 
There  was  one  man  in  the  hospital  who  had  lost 
both  legs  and  screamed  with  pain  every  night 
because  his  toes  were  twisted,  and  it  was  only 
when  they  had  dug  up  his  feet  and  straightened 
out  his  toes  that  he  got  rest. 

There  are  nerves  and  nerves,  and  I  am  sure  that 
the  grafting  in  me  of  this  piece  from  the  nerves 
of  an  Irishman  has  given  to  me  more  nerve  than 
I  ever  had  in  my  life  before,  else  how  could  I  have 
written  this  book  ? 


PART   VI 
MEDITATIONS   IN   THE   TRENCHES 


CHAPTER  XXXII 
THE  RIGHT  INFANTRY  WEAPONS 

I  KNOW  scores  of  men  who  have  been  months 
in  the  trenches  and  over  the  top  in  several  attacks 
who  have  never  fired  a  shot  out  of  their  rifles. 
In  fact,  it  is  ver}%  ver}'-  rarely  that  the  man  in  the 
trenches  gets  a  chance  to  aim  at  an  enemy  at  a 
greater  range  than  a  hundred  yards.  There  are 
thousands  of  men  whom  I  know  who  believe  that 
the  long-range  rifles  used  in  our  army  to-day  are 
useless  weapons.  A  much  more  serviceable  gun 
to  repel  a  coimter-attack  would  be  one  firing  buck- 
shot like  a  pump-gun.  The  bullets  from  our 
high-velocity  rifles  frequently  pass  through  the 
body  of  a  man  at  a  close  range  and  he  is  not  even 
conscious  of  having  been  hit  and  continues  to 
come  on  with  as  great  fury  as  before.  The 
pellets  scattering  from  a  shotgun  at  a  range  of 
a  hundred  yards  or  less  would  do  him  more 
damage  and  be  far  more  certain  to  stop  him.  In 
an  actual  charge  our  present  rifle  is  more  than  use- 
less— it  is  an  encumbrance,  and  when  at  grips 
with  the  enemy  in  his  own  trenches  it  is  often  a 
fatal  handicap.  With  a  bayonet  at  the  end  it  is 
far  too  long,  and  in  a  trench  two  to  four  feet 
wide  it  cannot  be  used  with  much  effect.     I  have 

3" 


312  "OVER  THERE" 

known  our  men  repeatedly  to  unship  the  bayonet 
and  take  it  in  their  hands,  throwing  the  rifle  away. 
Another  danger  is  that  men  will  fire  their  rifles 
down  an  enemy  trench  and  these  high-velocity 
bullets  will  pass  right  through  the  bodies  of  the 
one  or  two  of  the  enemy  in  front  of  him  and  fre- 
quently kill  his  own  comrade  beyond.  Remem- 
ber, in  a  fight  in  a  trench  friend  and  foe  are  mixed 
up  together  and  many  of  our  men  have  been  im- 
consciously  shot  by  their  fellows.  In  every  regi- 
ment a  small  squad  of  picked  marksmen  only 
should  have  these  long-range  rifles,  with  the  addi- 
tion of  telescopic  sights.  The  average  man  does 
not  take  exact  aim  before  firing,  and  nearly  all 
the  shots  go  high.  If  it  were  not  for  bombs  and 
machine-guns  the  enemy  could  always  succeed  in 
getting  to  our  trenches  with  very  little  loss.  It 
should  be  remembered,  too,  how  closely,  in  an  at- 
tack, we  follow  our  own  barrage — it  is  impossible 
to  see  to  fire  through  it. 

The  system  of  barrage  fighting  that  we  now  use 
has  made  warfare  as  much  a  hand-to-hand  business 
as  it  was  in  olden  times  and  we  must  go  back  a 
good  deal  to  old-fashioned  weapons,  as  we  have  to 
a  great  extent  to  old-fashioned  armor.  The  picked 
snipers  or  sharpshooters  could  be  placed  in  points 
of  vantage  to  pick  off  any  of  the  enemy  who  ex- 
posed themselves  and  a  score  of  them  in  each  com- 
pany would  get  very  few  shots  in  a  day. 

Another  weapon  that  infantry  should  be  armed 
with  is  a  hand-bayonet  as  there  is  no  advantage 


THE  RIGHT  INFANTRY  WEAPONS     313 

whatever  in  the  long  reach  that  our  present  rifle 
and  bayonet  gives.     As  a  matter  of  fact,  many  of 
our  men  have  been  killed  through  driving  their 
bayonet  too  far  into  the  body  of  their  opponent, 
not  being  able  to  draw  it  out,  thus  being  helpless 
when  attacked  by  another  of  the  enemy.     It  is  no 
use  telling  men  not  to  drive  their  bayonet  in  more 
than  three  or  four  inches,  for  in  the  speed  and  fury 
of  a  charge  they  will  always  drive  it  in  right  up 
to  the  hilt,  and  while  we  retain  this  out-of-date 
weapon  we  should  certainly  put  a  guard  on  it  not 
further  than  six  inches  from  the  point.     I  have 
used  a  hand-bayonet  which  sticks  out  from  the 
fist  like  a  knuckle-duster  and  is  about  six  inches 
long.     The  shock  of  the  blow  is  taken  on  the  fore- 
arm which  also  has  an  iron  plate  nmning  down  it 
on  which  to  receive  the  thrust  of  one's  opponent. 
This  is  the  natural  weapon  for  the  Anglo-Saxon, 
as  the  fist  and  arm  is  used  exactly  as  in  boxing. 
If  an  enemy  comes  at  you  with  a  bayonet  it  is 
the  natural  and  easy  thing  to  throw  up  your  arm 
and  ward  it  off.     The  iron  plate  saves  your  arm 
being  cut;  you  are  in  imder  his  guard;  seize  his 
rifle   with  your  left  hand  and  punch  with  your 
right,  driving  the  knife  home  the  six  inches,  which 
is  all  that  is  necessary.     I  have  been  in  and  seen 
a  number  of  bayonet  charges  and  I  am  quite 
satisfied  that  the  parries  and  thrusts  that  we  teach 
the  infantryman  are  only  of  value  to  get  him  used 
to  handling  his  rifle.     After  that  it  would  be  a 
good  thing  for  him  to  forget  them. 


314  "OVER  THERE" 

There  are  only  two  things  that  it  is  essential  to 
remember  when  you  go  into  a  bayonet  charge. 
The  first  is  that  the  most  determined  man  will  win. 
I  have  known  champion  men-at-arms  killed  by  a 
bayonet  in  their  first  charge  and  other  little  fel- 
lows who  were  no  good  in  the  practice  combats 
kill  their  man  every  time.  If  you  go  into  a 
bayonet  charge  with  the  idea  of  disarming  your 
opponent  and  taking  him  prisoner  you  will  most 
certainly  be  killed.  But  if  you  are  quite  sure  in 
your  own  mind  that  you  are  going  to  kill  every 
man  who  comes  against  you,  you  will  do  it.  Your 
determination  impresses  itself  upon  the  man  you 
attack  and  he  will  be  beaten  before  you  reach  him. 
The  other  thing  that  it  is  wise  to  remember  is  to 
make  your  opponent  attack  you  on  your  left  side. 
If  he  attacks  you  on  the  right  you  have  to  parry 
him  and  then  thrust,  but  for  an  attack  on  the  left 
side  the  action  of  parrying  will  bring  the  toe  of  your 
butt  into  his  jaw  or  ribs,  disabling  him,  and  it  is 
a  good  thing  to  use  your  knee  at  the  same  time. 

The  general-staff  officers  who  decide  how  an 
army  should  be  weaponed  never  do  the  actual 
fighting  and  few  junior  officers  or  men  feel  com- 
petent to  offer  their  advice.  I  am  quite  confident 
that  a  majority  of  the  fighters  would  agree  with  the 
foregoing  opinions,  and  I  would  like  the  chance 
of  taking  a  company  armed  as  I  have  suggested 
into  action,  and  would  be  quite  satisfied  of  their 
superiority  to  any  troops  on  the  front. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 
THE  FORCING-HOUSE  OF  BESTIALITY 

The  Germans  have  given  to  us  an  illustration, 
though  such  was  not  needed  by  thinking  men  to 
convince  them  of  its  truth,  of  the  fact  that  the 
beast  in  humanity  only  requires  encouragement 
to  make  us  more  bestial  than  any  wild  thing  of  the 
jimgle  or  even  the  filthy  cur  of  the  streets.  If  any 
man  takes  as  his  guiding  principle  the  devilish 
doctrine  that  the  "end  justified  the  means"  he 
will  soon  become  a  menace  to  his  fellows  and  any 
good  impulses  that  he  may  originally  have  will 
pass  away.  The  German  Government  made 
savagery,  brutality,  and  bestiality  a  deliberate 
policy,  and  now  it  is  their  imconscious  impulse. 
Germany  is  paying  a  terrible  penalty  in  the 
degradation  and  demoralization  of  her  whole 
people  for  having  given  the  direction  of  the  coim- 
try  into  the  hands  of  the  Devil  in  exchange  for 
power,  and  the  German  army  is  to-day  a  forcing- 
house  for  bestiality  and  there  is  no  atmosphere  in 
the  whole  world  that  so  conduces  to  evil.  In  the 
beginning  of  the  war  letters  and  statements  of 
prisoners  showed  that  there  were  then  many  de- 
cent Germans  who  were  horrified  at  the  abomina- 
tions they  had  seen  and  committed  at  the  com- 

315 


3i6  "OVER  THERE" 

mand  of  their  government.  But  latterly,  you 
cannot  find  any  trace  of  this  feeling.  Now  they 
gloat  over  it. 

There  is  no  one  in  the  world  to-day  except  those 
who  are  of  like  mind  who  do  not  know  that  the 
story  of  the  German  atrocities  is  true,  for  Germany 
has  admitted  enough  crimes  to  convince  any  sane 
man  that  she  would  stick  at  nothing.  No  action 
could  be  too  cruel,  no  deed  too  beastly,  no  torture 
too  diabolical,  no  insult  too  keen,  no  impulse  too 
filthy,  no  disfigurement  too  hideous,  no  vandalism 
too  shocking,  no  destruction  too  complete,  no 
stooping  too  low  that  Germany  would  hesitate 
to  do  where  she  has  opportunity.  When  Germany 
boasted  of  the  murder  by  drowning  of  women  and 
babes  on  the  high  seas  she  proclaimed  to  the  world 
that  she  was  a  criminal,  and  we  do  not  need  to 
have  any  other  crimes  proven  to  convince  us  that, 
while  there  is  such  a  thing  as  justice,  she  must  not 
go  unpunished. 

Criminals  have  been  forgiven,  but  not  before 
they  are  repentant;  Safety,  as  well  as  Justice,  de- 
mands that  the  murderer,  the  assassin,  the  raper 
shall  not  go  free.  Germany  has  not  only  com- 
mitted all  these  crimes,  but  her  theologians  and 
professors  have  condoned  them.  The  man  who 
counsels  forgiveness  to  Germany  adds  hypocrisy 
to  the  will  to  commit  the  same  crimes.  To  for- 
give, we  are  told,  is  divine,  but  the  Divine  does 
not  forgive  without  repentance.     Has  Germany 


FORCING-HOUSE  OF  BESTIALITY     317 

shown  signs  of  repentance  yet  ?  Well,  then,  the 
man  who  talks  of  forgiveness  to  Germany  before 
she  is  on  her  knees  begging  for  forgiveness  is  an 
enemy  of  peace  and  a  condoner  of  crime. 

It  is  so  easy  for  those  who  have  not  suffered  to 
tell  the  victims  "to  forgive."  We  do  not  go  in 
nightly  dread  lest  in  the  morning  we  should  have 
to  rake  among  the  ruins  of  our  homes  for  the  man- 
gled body  of  oiir  baby  !  We  do  not  have  to  work 
in  daily  fear  lest  we  should  have  to  return  to 
an  empty  house  whence  wife  or  daughter  have 
been  dragged  by  brutal  hands !  For  three  years 
the  people  of  London  and  Paris  and  thousands  of 
other  cities  have  never  known  but  that  at  any 
moment  their  house  might  be  brought  down  in 
ruins  about  their  ears,  entombing  all  that  they 
hold  dear !  For  three  years  the  men  of  northern 
France  and  Belgium  have  never  known  but  that 
while  they  were  working,  under  compulsion, 
against  the  life  of  their  own  blood  and  country  in 
a  German  munition  factory,  some  soldiers  might 
not  be  calling  at  their  homes  to  take  the  woman 
that  they  love  God  alone  knows  where !  These 
very  things  have  happened  to  tens  of  thousands. 
Week  after  week  the  human  hawks  come  over 
London,  and  ever  the  toll  of  civilians  and  women 
and  babies  done  to  death  grows  larger !  One 
hundred  thousand  young  girls  were  taken  from 
Lille  and  other  cities  away  from  knowledge  or 
protection  of  their  kin,  and  until  recently  we  had 


3i8  "OVER  THERE'* 

no  news  of  any  of  them,  but  some  have  been 
thrown  into  Switzerland,  of  no  further  use  to 
Germany;  used  up  Hke  sucked  lemons,  they 
are  cast  aside  for  the  Swiss  to  feed.  Germany 
has  in  her  maw  to-day  more  than  ten  millions  of 
slaves. 

In  America  or  Australia  there  are  no  hospitals 
where  He  thousands  of  girls  too  young  to  become 
mothers  who  have  been  raped.  We  have  not 
himdreds  of  boys  who  will  never  become  men.  A 
young  girl  said  to  me:  "There  is  a  baby  coming; 
it  is  a  boche;  when  it  is  bom  I  will  cut  its  throat ! " 
A  woman  showed  me  on  an  estaminet  floor  the 
blood-stains  of  her  own  baby  butchered  before 
her  eyes.  These  were  French  women,  not  ours. 
But  what  if  they  had  been  ?  Yotu-  sister !  Yotur 
mother  !  Youi  wife  !  And  they  might  have  been 
but  for  the  accident  of  geography.  Would  you 
then  have  felt  as  bitter  as  these  people?  Or 
would  you  still  have  kindly  feeHngs  to  Germany 
and  not  want  to  "humiliate  her."  There  may  be 
beings  who  could  see  daughter  violated  or  brother 
mutilated  without  taking  personal  vengeance, 
but  such  should  not  be  permitted  to  breathe  the 
air  with  MEN. 

The  only  people  who  have  a  right  to  say  what 
pimishment  shall  be  meted  out  to  Germany  for 
her  misdeeds,  are  the  women  of  France,  of  Bel- 
gium, of  Poland,  of  Serbia,  of  Rumania,  of  Italy, 
who  have  suffered  these  things;   and  if  any  one, 


FORCING-HOUSE  OF  BESTIALITY     319 

King  or  President,  Parliament  or  Pope,  dares 
stand  between  these  people  and  their  just  wrath 
they  deserve  to  be  pilloried  in  the  minds  of  men  as 
condoners  of  crime,  as  accessories  after  the  fact. 

The  only  chance  for  permanent  peace,  and  guar- 
antee that  these  abominable  crimes  shall  not  be 
committed  again,  is  that  we  should  so  punish 
Germany  that  she  shall  realize  * '  that  war  does  not 
pay,"  and  that  the  whole  earth  may  know  that 
no  nation  can  commit  these  atrocities  and  go 
unpunished. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 
THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  FEAR 

The  observation  of  men  in  many  circumstances 
of  peril  has  quite  convinced  me  that  it  is  those  who 
are  most  afraid  that  do  the  bravest  deeds.  I  do 
not  mean  that  the  fact  that  they  are  afraid  in- 
creases the  difficulty  of  the  doing,  because  it 
lessens  it.  It  is  fear  that  drives  men  to  heroism ! 
And  many  a  man  attempts  the  superhuman  feat 
of  courage  not  to  show  to  others  that  he  is  no 
coward,  but  as  evidence  in  the  court  of  his  own 
judgment,  to  disprove  the  accusations  of  con- 
science, which  asserts  he  is  craven.  The  old 
illustration  of  one  soldier  who  accused  another  of 
having  no  bravery  because  he  had  no  fear,  by  say- 
ing, "If  you  were  as  much  afraid  as  I  am  you 
would  have  run  away  long  ago,"  is  not  true  to  life, 
for  it  is  the  man  of  dulled  feelings  that  is  the  first 
to  run,  and  the  "man  who  is  afraid  of  being  afraid  " 
who  stays  at  his  post  to  the  last.  I  have  ever 
found  that  the  best  scouts,  men  who  must  gen- 
erally work  alone  in  the  dark,  are  those  of  highly 
strung  nervous  temperaments.  I  have  noticed, 
too,  that  our  best  airmen  were  of  the  same  type, 
for  if  you  go  into  any  mess  of  pilots  on  the  front 

you  will  see  them  always  fidgeting,  their  hands 

320 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  FEAR      321 

never  still,  betraying  nervousness.  I  have  gone 
down  the  trench  before  a  charge  and  seen  the  men 
with  teeth  chattering  and  blanched  faces,  but  at 
the  appointed  second  these  men  go  over  the  top, 
none  hesitating,  every  man  performing  prodigies 
of  valor;  not  one  but  was  a  hero,  yet  not  one  that 
was  not  afraid. 

There  must  be  something  wrong  with  the  make- 
up of  a  man  who  under  modem  artillery-fire 
is  not  afraid.  There  are  no  nerves  that  do  not 
break  down  eventually  imder  the  strain,  but  the 
man  who  shrinks  from  a  shadow,  and  shudders  at 
the  touch  of  cold  mud  does  his  job  with  care  and 
walks  unhesitatingly  into  the  mouth  of  hell.  I 
have  seen  our  signallers  mending  the  telephone- 
wire  imder  fire;  each  time  it  would  break  they 
would  curse  and  tremble,  but  immediately  go 
out  and  repair  it  accurately,  slowly,  no  skimped 
work,  repeating  the  performance  again  and  again. 
There  is  in  our  spirit  some  reserve  force  which 
on  occasion  the  will  uses  to  stiffen  resolution — 
the  second  wind  of  determination. 

Fear  is  the  "piirgative  of  the  soul"!  There 
is  nothing  so  wholesome  for  a  man  as  to  be 
"scared  to  death"  !  Nothing  that  so  drives  out 
the  littlenesses  that  poison  his  life  and  set  up  the 
toxaemia  of  selfishness.  Many  a  man  that  before 
the  war  made  the  acquiring  of  wealth  or  the  gain- 
ing of  the  plaudits  of  his  friends  his  chief  aim, 
now  finds  that  tTiese  things  have  no  appeal  for 


322  "OVER  THERE" 

him.  For  he  has  been  to  the  edge  of  life  and 
looked  into  the  abyss,  and  fear  has  stripped  from 
him  the  rags  of  self-adomment ;  and  standing 
naked  between  the  worids  his  soul  has  found  that 
it  needs  no  beautifying  but  the  cleansing  of  self- 
forgetfulness. 

This  war  is  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  this 
world  has  ever  known,  for  it  has  brought  to  us  fear 
of  selfish  force,  fear  of  the  engines  of  our  own  con- 
struction, fear  of  isolation  in  world  politics,  fear  of 
secret  diplomacy,  fear  of  an  imguarded  peace,  fear 
of  an  unprepared  future,  fear  of  an  undisciplined 
people,  fear  of  an  irresponsible  government,  and, 
above  all  THE  FEAR  OF  FORGETTING! 

But  there  is  another  reason  why  a  man  in  battle, 
though  afraid,  does  not  fail.  The  fact  is  that  men 
in  a  regiment  or  an  army  are  not  under  the  domina- 
tion of  their  own  will  at  all,  but  of  the  collective 
will  of  the  whole.  That  is  why  some  regiments 
are  so  anxious  to  keep  alive  their  traditions,  and 
emblazon  their  battles  on  their  colors.  That  is 
why  we  devote  so  much  time  in  the  training  of 
young  recruits  to  the  knowledge  of  the  esprit  de 
corps  of  the  regiment.  That  is  why  the  regulars 
are  always  the  best  fighters.  It  is  not  their  longer 
training,  for  that  is  a  handicap  with  new  methods 
of  warfare.  It  is  not  because  of  their  superior 
discipline,  for  the  territorials  have  not  lacked  per- 
fect discipline.  But  there  is  an  atmosphere  in 
the  regular  regiments  that  makes  one  brother 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  FEAR      323 

that  goes  into  the  regulars  a  better  soldier  than 
the  other  that  enlists  in  militia.  This  atmosphere 
is  compounded  of  pride  in  past  achievements  and 
confidence  that  the  colors  that  have  never  been 
lowered,  though  shot  down  on  many  a  field,  can- 
not be  shamed  to-day.  The  victors  of  many 
engagements  have  an  enormous  advantage  in 
battle.  No  one  expected  anything  but  the  most 
heroic  courage  from  the  British  regulars  who  had 
never  failed  when  called  upon,  but  every  one  was 
not  a  little  anxious  how  "Kitchener's"  would 
stand  their  first  ordeal  of  fire. 

Every  mass  of  men  has,  besides  the  will  and 
mind  of  each  one  of  them,  a  collective  will  and 
mind.  Every  town  has  this — who  has  not  felt,  on 
entering  a  town  and  viewing  its  shops  and  people, 
a  certain  pushing  toward  behavior — some  towns 
tend  to  make  one  frivolous,  others  grave.  I  know 
a  city  which,  every  time  I  enter,  makes  me  think 
when  last  I  was  in  church,  while  there  is  another 
in  which  I  always  want  to  dance  or  view  the  Follies. 
Have  you  not  seen  countrymen  in  town,  whose 
clothes  proclaim  that  they  have  never  been  out 
later  than  nine  o'clock  in  a  lifetime,  trying  to  be 
the  gay  Lothario,  drinking  wine  in  a  cabaret? 
Every  house  has  its  personality  made  up  of  the 
collective  minds  of  the  people  who  inhabit  it. 
Take  your  child  to  one  strange  house  and  he  will 
fidget  uncomfortably  on  the  edge  of  his  chair; 
but  take  him  to  another,  just  as  strange,  and  he 


324  "OVER  THERE" 

will  romp  about  without  hesitation.  Children 
are  like  the  canaries  we  use  to  detect  the  presence 
of  poisonous  gases,  most  sensitive  to  atmosphere. 
In  the  same  way  an  army  has  ONE  WILL,  and 
that  is  why  in  battle  you  will  not  see  one  man  faU, 
or  there  will  be  panic  and  all  will  fail.  In  every 
army  there  are  individual  men  weak  in  resolution 
who,  left  to  themselves,  would  run  away;  but  as 
the  MIND  of  the  army  as  a  whole  is  courageous, 
so  they  are  swept  along  in  spite  of  themselves. 
The  German  army  has  ONE  MIND  for  bestiality, 
and  the  Allied  army  has  ONE  MIND  for  victory. 


CHAPTER   XXXV 

THE  SPLENDOR  OF  THE  PRESENT 
OPPORTUNITY 

To  those  who  are  thrilled  by  the  old-time 
tales  of  adventurous  chivalry  or  moved  by  the 
narrative  of  high  endeavor  and  heroic  achieve- 
ment for  some  noble  ideal,  I  bring  a  conception 
of  the  marvellous  glory  of  these  present  days. 
We  have  been  wont  to  sing  of  the  times  when 
thousands  left  home  and  comfort  on  a  Holy 
Crusade,  but  the  Crusaders  of  these  days  are 
numbered  in  millions. 

Never  were  there  such  stirring  times  as  these, 
never  since  the  first  tick  of  time  have  the  hours 
been  so  crowded !  Never  before  did  so  many 
men  live  nobly  or  die  bravely.  The  young 
knights  from  many  lands  are  seeking  the  Holy 
Grail,  and  finding  it  in  forgetfulness  of  self  and 
in  sacrifice  for  their  fellows.  You  and  I  are  liv- 
ing to-day  among  the  deeds  of  men  that  make  the 
deeds  of  the  heroes  of  past  times  pale  into  insigni- 
ficance. Never  were  there  bred  men  of  such 
large  and  heroic  mould  as  the  men  of  to-day. 

Here's  a  trench — on  which  a  shell  falls — and 
where  one  shell  falls  another  always  follows  in 
the  same  place ; — the  shell  blows  in  a  dugout  and 

325 


326  "OVER  THERE" 

there  is  little  chance  that  the  men  sheltering 
therein  shall  be  alive,  yet  those  on  either  side, 
knowing  that  another  shell  will  fall  in  a  second 
or  so,  in  utter  forgetfulness  of  self  leap  in  and 
with  their  bare  fingers  scrape  away  the  dirt  lest 
haply  there  should  be  some  life  yet  remaining  in 
this  quivering,  mangled  human  flesh. 

Oh!  What  chances  the  men  of  earth  have 
to-day  to  be  as  God!  The  highest  conception 
any  religion  has  given  us  of  God  is  that  he  is  one 
that  would  sacrifice  himself — "Greater  love  hath 
no  man  than  this  that  he  lay  down  his  life  for  his 
friends"— and  to-day  they're  doing  it  by  the 
million.  Every  moment  is  adding  names  to  the 
honor-roll  of  heaven  of  men  who  follow  in  His 

steps. 

Have  you  conceived  that  the  uniting  together 
of  the  nations  that  love  peace  in  this  struggle 
will  do  more  to  guarantee  peace  in  the  future  than 
anything  else  that  has  ever  happened  in  world 
politics,— that  it  will  join  France,  Britain,  and 
America  into  a  trinity  of  free  peoples  who  will 
prevent  war,  at  least  for  many  generations?  We 
are  being  bound  together  by  the  strongest  tie 
that  ever  tied  nation  to  nation,  that  ever  bound 
one  people  to  another,  not  by  political  treaties 
that  may  be  torn  up,  but  by  the  great  tie  of  com- 
mon blood  shed  in  a  common  cause  on  a  common 
soil.  That  narrow  lane  that  stretches  from  Switz- 
erland to  the  sea  is  the  great  international  ceme- 


THE  PRESENT  OPPORTUNITY     327 

tery,  and  for  many  generations  it  will  be  the 
Mecca  of  pilgrimages  from  all  our  countries. 
The  wreaths  of  America  will  mingle  with  the  im- 
mortelles of  France  and  the  flowers  from  Bri- 
tain and  the  pilgrims  shall  there  get  to  know, 
imderstand,  and  love  each  other  as  they  engage 
in  the  holy  task  of  paying  a  common  tribute  to 
their  common  dead.  Shall  not  the  mingling  blood 
of  Frenchmen,  Britons,  and  Americans  make  the 
flowers  of  peace  to  grow?  They  never  had  such 
soil  before. 

There  is  being  created,  also,  in  all  our  countries 
a  new  aristocracy — the  aristocracy  of  courage. 
We  never  had  a  chance  up  till  now  to  prove  who 
were  our  real,  our  best  people,  and  we  have  been 
accustomed  to  measure  our  citizens  by  the  false 
and  small  standards  of  wealth,  birth,  and  intellect. 
Well !  There  has  been  given  to  us  to-day  a  new 
standard  whereby  we  can  measure  ourselves,  the 
standard  of  courage,  sacrifice,  and  service.  No- 
body in  England  cares  to-day  whether  you  are 
descended  from  William  the  Conqueror  or  not ! 
No  one  will  care  in  America  whether  your  an- 
cestor came  over  in  the  Mayflower,  or  whether 
he  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence ! 
Every  American  has  a  chance  to-day  of  signing 
a  far  greater  declaration  than  that  great  one  of 
'76 — the  declaration  of  personal  willingness  to 
sacrifice  all  on  the  altar  of  liberty.  In  England, 
in  America,  in  Australia,  in  all  the  countries  of  the 


328  "OVER  THERE 


»♦ 


world  in  the  days  that  are  to  be,  men  and  women 
will  make  their  boast  in  this  one  thing,  or  have  no 
cause  for  boasting  at  all,  of  the  part  that  they  had 
in  this  fight,  the  greatest  fight  that  has  ever  been 
waged  for  liberty,  for  righteousness,  and  for  the 
virtue  of  womanhood. 

What  a  splendid  opportunity  it  is  for  us  to  be  ■ 
able  to  personally  pay  the  price  of  liberty.  How 
easy  to  forget  that  freedom  has  either  to  be  earned 
by  ourselves  or  enjoyed  because  some  one  else 
has  paid  the  price  for  us.  Had  we  not  forgotten 
in  our  countries  that  the  democracy  that  we  boast 
of  is  no  credit  to  us  because  it  was  won  by  the 
blood  of  other  men  ?  Men  died  that  we  might  be 
able  to  govern  ourselves !  Women  carried  heart- 
ache and  loneliness  to  the  grave  that  we  might 
make  our  own  laws ! 

Liberty !  Such  an  easy  word  to  mouth,  but 
how  precious  in  the  sight  of  God  !  Liberty  is  one 
of  the  treasures  of  heaven  and  only  committed  to 
men  at  great  cost,  lest  they  should  undervalue  it. 

In  these  great  and  wonderful  times  there  has 
been  given  to  us  the  glorious  opportunity  to  earn 
our  own  liberty,  to  prove  our  own  personal  right 
to  citizenship  in  a  free  coimtry. 

You  may  not  be  able  to  pay  in  good,  red  blood, 
you  may  not  be  able  to  pay  much  in  the  coin  of 
the  republic,  but  if  each  of  us  does  not  pay  in 
whatsoever  coin  we  have,  there  will  come  soon  to 
us  the  days  in  which  we  shall  realize  that  we  are 


THE  PRESENT  OPPORTUNITY     329 

thieves  and  robbers,  enjoying  that  to  which  we 
have  no  right,  won  so  hardly  with  the  deaths  and 
wounds  of  men  and  the  salt  tears  of  women. 
In  the  New  World  that  shall  be  bom  after  the 
birth-pangs  of  the  present  days,  we  shall  realize 
that  we  have  no  place,  our  souls  shall  shrink  and 
shrivel  as  we  gaze  on  the  honor  scars  of  those  who 
have  paid,  and  we  shall  be  elbowed  to  the  out- 
skirts of  the  crowd,  as  the  people  bow  before  the 
men  whom  the  President  and  people  delight  to 
honor — the  men  sightless,  the  men  limbless,  the 
memory  of  the  men  lifeless. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 
NOT  A  FIGHT  FOR  "RACE"  BUT  FOR  "RIGHT" 

I  HAVE  no  patience  with  the  waterish  sentiment 
that  suggests  that  the  Hnes  of  the  Germans  in 
America  and  AustraHa  have  fallen  in  hard  places 
because  they  are  called  upon  to  take  up  arms 
against  their  own  blood.  For  this  is  not  a  war 
of  race,  but  of  right !  It  is  not  a  war  of  Britons, 
Americans,  and  French  against  Germans  and 
Austrians !  It  is  a  war  of  men  in  all  nations 
against  beasts ! 

There  is  something  in  all  of  us  that  is  stronger 
than  kinship,  higher  than  citizenship — manhood — 
and  every  one  who  is  a  man,  though  he  be  of  Ger- 
man blood  will  join  us  in  this  struggle  against  the 
monster  that  has  devoured  women  and  children 
and  many  fair  lands. 

We  have  in  the  Australian  army  one  general  of 
German  blood,  another  of  Austrian,  and  hundreds 
of  men  of  both,  but  they  have  been  fighting  loyally 
with  us,  because  they  were  men  and  could  not  be 
held  back  from  striking  at  tyranny  and  wrong. 
Remember,  in  the  Australian  army  all  are  volun- 
teers. 

Every  one  now  knows  what  Germany  stands 
for  and  the  menace  she  is  to  the  future  of  the  world 

330 


NOT  A  FIGHT  FOR   "RACE"     331 

if  her  power  is  not  destroyed,  and  every  one  who 
does  not  help  to  defeat  her  is  an  ally  of  the  Kaiser 
and  helping  him  to  win  the  war. 

The  Judge  is  to-day  separating  the  sheep  from 
the  goats,  not  according  to  nationality,  but  ac- 
cording to  how  they  stand  in  this  strife  for  right, 
for  never  was  there  a  cause  so  divinely  right  as 
the  cause  of  the  Allies,  and  never  a  cause  so  devil- 
ishly wrong  as  that  of  the  Germans. 

The  great  mass  of  the  German  people  have 
shown  themselves  to  be  on  the  side  of  evil,  but 
every  German  in  our  own  countries  is  given  a 
chance  in  the  present  days  to  prove  himself  a 
man  who  hates  brutality  and  cruelty  and  wrong, 
or  by  standing  aloof  from  helping  us  show  that 
he  has  the  will  to  do  these  things  as  his  kinsman 
in  France.  These  should  be  given  the  same  medi- 
cine as  the  Kaiser's  millions  "over  there."  We 
should  also  root  out  the  Kaiser's  secret  allies  in  our 
midst,  some  of  them  not  of  German  blood,  who 
for  pay  do  his  dirty  work,  never  forgetting  also 
that  the  neutral  and  the  lukewarm  at  this  present 
juncture  are  also  our  enemies  and  have  their  hands 
stained  with  the  blood  of  our  kin  who  die  for  this 
cause. 

Washington  when  he  called  on  the  English 
colonists  in  this  country  to  resist  the  German 
mercenaries  of  the  German  King  of  England  did 
not  bewail  the  fate  that  compelled  them  to  fight 
against  their  own  country  and  where  their  kin 


332  "OVER  THERE" 

dwelt.  No !  For  his  cause  was  just  and  just- 
minded  men  must  support  it  though  a  sword 
pierced  their  own  hearts. 

Lincoln  when  he  called  on  the  people  of  the 
Northern  States  to  free  the  slaves  did  not  exempt 
those  who  had  friends  or  kin  down  South,  but  he 
called  on  every  one  who  was  free  to  strike  a  blow 
for  the  freedom  of  other  men,  though  in  so  doing 
they  should  be  cutting  off  their  own  right  arms. 

In  this  war  we  are  not  only  fighting  to  free  mil- 
lions who  are  held  in  a  far  worse  slavery  than  ever 
the  negro  was  in,  but  we  are  fighting  for  our  own 
liberty  and  that  of  our  children,  which  has  been 
directly  attacked.  Not  all  Germans  are  bestial 
and  cruel,  with  no  regard  for  honor,  but  just  how 
many  of  them  are  not  remains  for  the  American 
and  Australian  citizens  of  German  descent  to 
prove. 

Not  all  Britishers  and  Americans  and  French- 
men are  willing  to  sacrifice  themselves  in  our 
righteous  cause — there  are  traitors  even  here, 
and  these  I  would  rather  shoot  than  the  enemy  in 
France. 

There  never  was  a  more  damnable  doctrine 
promulgated  on  the  face  of  the  earth  than  that  of 
"My  country,  right  or  wrong."  Free  men  could 
never  subscribe  to  such  a  doctrine.  We  have  no 
right  to  call  upon  people  to  take  up  arms  because 
the  government  has  declared  war,  but  because  the 
government  was  right  in  declaring  war.     Those 


NOT  A  FIGHT  FOR  "RACE"     333 

who  oppose  the  government  in  this  are  not  traitors 
to  a  party  or  a  majority,  but  traitors  to  the  coun- 
try and  to  right. 

The  two  great  camps  in  which  the  world  is 
divided  to-day  will  be  known  in  history  as  those 
who  loved  liberty  more  than  life  and  those  who 
loved  dominion  more  than  right.  Maybe  the 
names  of  the  races  will  be  forgotten  but  the  mem- 
ory of  the  opposing  principles  will  abide. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 
"KEEPING  FAITH  WITH  THE  DEAD" 

While  here  and  there  politicians  grow  faint- 
hearted, the  army  fights  on  with  cheerfulness.  It 
would  be  a  cure  for  pessimism  of  the  deepest 
black  to  go  to  the  trenches  for  a  while.  There 
all  is  cheery  optimism,  no  doubt  at  all  about  the 
final  outcome,  and  no  talk  of  peace.  I  have  never 
heard  one  man  in  the  army  talk  or  hint  of  peace 
or  dream  of  it,  for  they  know  that  it  cannot  be 
yet.  The  only  people  who  shall  declare  peace  will 
be  the  army — no  politicians,  no  parliament,  or 
government — for  the  army  to-day  is  a  citizen 
army  and  large  enough  to  change  any  government 
that  is  weak-kneed,  and  they  shall  allow  parlia- 
ment to  grant  peace  only  when  they  are  ready, 
and  that  shall  not  be  until  we  have  gained  a  cer- 
tain victory. 

Prime  Minister  Lloyd  George  gave  us  three 
words  over  a  year  ago  that  are  still  the  beacon- 
lights  of  the  army,  and  we  shall  not  reach  port 
tmless  they  are  our  guiding  lights.  They  were 
reparation,  restoration,  and  guarantees,  and  any- 
thing less  would  be  a  betrayal  of  France  and  Bel- 
gium and  an  insult  to  the  wounded  and  a  defaming 
of  the  dead. 

334 


"KEEPING  FAITH"  335 

The  army  and  people  of  the  alHed  countries 
have  already  paid  too  much  not  to  have  the  goods 
deHvered. 

Do  you  think,  for  example,  that  we  Australian 
boys  are  going  back  to  our  country  without 
having  gained  that  for  which  we  came  these 
twelve  thousand  miles  and  have  fought  so  long, 
and  lost  so  much  ? 

Do  you  think  that  I  am  going  back  to  Australia 
well  and  sound  to  face  the  mothers  of  my  scouts, 
and  when  they  come  and  ask  me  how  their  boys 
died,  I  will  have  to  say:  "Well !  Here  I  am,  well 
and  strong,  still  able  to  put  up  a  fight,  and  your 
son  lies  over  there,  his  bones  rotting  on  a  foreign 
soil,  and  all  in  vain.  The  blood  of  him  who  to 
you  was  more  precious  than  any  prince  or  king 
that  ever  lived  has  been  poured  out  like  water 
and  uselessly"? 

Listen !  Here  is  something  of  what  Australia 
has  paid.  There  has  never  been  a  day  for  three 
years  that  hundreds  of  Australian  wives  have 
not  been  made  widows.  There  has  not  been  a 
single  week  that  there  has  not  been  more  than  a 
full  page  of  casualties  in  our  daily  papers.  Every 
woman  in  Australia  if  she  has  not  seen  there  the 
name  of  her  near  kin  has  seen  the  name  of  some 
one  that  she  knows.  I  know  a  father  and  five 
sons  that  have  all  been  killed.  Within  fifty  miles 
of  one  town  that  I  know  there  is  not  a  man  under 
fifty  years  of  age.     There  are  ranches  and  farms 


336  "OVER  THERE" 

that  will  go  back  to  the  primeval  wilderness,  the 
fences  will  rot  and  fall  down,  and  the  rabbits  and 
kangaroos  will  overrun  them  again,  because  the 
men  who  were  developing  them  are  gone  and 
there  are  none  to  take  their  places.  Never  was 
there  a  country  so  starved  for  men,  and  sixty 
thousand  are  gone  forever  or  maimed  for  life. 
Tell  me,  where  are  we  going  to  replace  these 
men?  No  country  in  the  world  could  so  ill  af- 
ford to  lose  its  young  men,  the  future  fathers  of 
the  race,  for  we  have  still  our  pioneering  to  do, 
a  continent  larger  than  the  United  States,  with 
about  the  population  of  New  York. 

Outside  our  Australian  cities  there  are  some 
large  cemeteries,  as  we  mostly  have  only  one  for 
each  city,  but  the  largest  of  our  cemeteries  does 
not  lie  on  Australian  soil.  There  are  more  Aus- 
tralian dead  buried  in  Egypt  than  in  any  ceme- 
tery in  our  own  country.  On  Gallipoli,  in  enemy 
hands,  are  the  graves  of  thousands  of  our  sacred 
dead.  There  are  more  of  our  unburied  dead 
whitening  in  No  Man's  Land  in  France  than  have 
ever  been  laid  to  rest  by  reverent  hands  in  a 
God's  acre  at  home.  Think  of  all  that  we  have 
paid  in  blood  and  tears  and  heartache.  But, 
perhaps,  more  than  this  has  been  paid  in  pain  and 
sweat.  Many  have  been  in  those  trenches  more 
than  three  years.  Consider  their  sufferings! 
The  unnatural  life,  like  rats  in  a  hole,  the  nerve- 
strain,  the  insufficient  food,  the  scanty  clothing. 


"KEEPING   FAITH"  337 

What  we  have  paid,  Canada  has  paid,  South 
Africa  has  paid,  but  Britain  and  France,  how  much 
more !  And  Belgium,  and  Serbia,  and  Poland, 
and  Rumania,  and  Italy.  What  a  price  to  pay 
for  an  insecure  peace,  an  enemy  still  with  power  to 
harm. 

We  might  erect  to  our  fallen  dead  the  most 
magnificent  monument  that  this  world  has  ever 
seen,  we  might  built  it  in  marble,  and  stud  it 
with  gems,  and  have  the  greatest  poets  and 
artists  decorate  it,  but  it  would  be  a  mockery 
and  a  sham. 

The  only  monument  that  we  dare  erect  to  our 
fallen  dead,  the  only  monument  that  would  not 
be  a  dishonor  to  them  and  a  shame  and  eter- 
nal disgrace  to  us  is  THE  MONUMENT  OF 
VICTORY. 

And  the  army  will  never  quit  until  we  have  sure 
victory,  for  we  dare  not  break  faith  with  our 
dead. 

These  lines  of  a  Canadian  soldier.  Colonel 
McCrae,  who  has  made  the  last  sacrifice  are  an 
epitome  of  the  army's  spirit: 

"  In  Flanders'  fields  the  poppies  grow 
Between  the  crosses,  row  on  row, 
That  mark  our  place, 
While  in  the  sky  the  larks, 
Still  bravely  singing. 
Fly  unheard  amid  the  guns. 
We  are  the  Dead — 
Short  days  ago  we  lived,  felt  dawn,  saw  sunsets'  glow, 


338  "OVER  THERE" 

Loved  and  were  loved — and  now  we  lie 
In  Flanders'  fields 

Take  up  our  quarrel  with  the  foe. 
To  you  from  failing  hands  we  throw 
The  torch — be  yours  to  bear  it  high — 
If  ye  break  faith  with  us  who  die, 
We  shall  not  sleep  though  poppies  grow 
In  Flanders'  fields." 


BUT  A  SHORT  TIME  TO  LIVE 

By  Leslie  Coulson,  killed  in  action 

Our  little  hour — how  swift  it  flies 

When  poppies  flare  and  lilies  smile; 
How  soon  the  fleeting  minute  dies, 

Leaving  us  but  a  little  while 
To  dream  our  dream,  to  sing  our  song 

To  pick  the  fruit,  to  pluck  the  flower, 
The  Gods — they  do  not  give  us  long — 

One  little  hour. 

Our  little  hour — how  short  it  is 

When  Love  with  dew-eyed  loveliness 
Raises  her  lips  for  ours  to  kiss 

And  dies  within  our  first  caress. 
Youth  flickers  out  like  windblown  flame, 

Sweets  of  to-day  to-morrow  sour, 
For  Time  and  Death,  relentless,  claim 

One  little  hour. 

Our  little  hour, — how  short  a  time 

To  wage  our  wars,  to  fan  our  fates, 
To  take  our  fiU  of  armored  crime. 

To  troop  our  banner,  storm  the  gates. 
Blood  on  the  sword,  our  eyes  blood-red. 

Blind  in  our  puny  reign  of  power, 
Do  we  forget  how  soon  is  sped 

One  little  hour  ? 

Our  little  hour — how  soon  it  dies; 

How  short  a  time  to  tell  our  beads. 
To  chant  our  feeble  Litanies, 

To  think  sweet  thoughts,  to  do  good  deeds, 
The  altar  lights  grow  pale  and  dim. 

The  bells  hang  silent  in  the  tower, 
So  passes  with  the  dying  hymn. 

Our  little  hour. 


339 


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